An Arrangement
by d'ihshtri
Summary: Uchiha clan adopts Naruto to have more political influence. The story describes events that follow. Warning, SLASH
1. Chapter 1

**A. N**. this is the story that was a gift for_ Noien-sama_. The Ita/Naru SWAP is behind us, so currently I am working on the new chapter for **SIGNS**. In the meantime I'll be posting this fic for Ita/Naru fans. So here's a warning for everyone, **Yaoi**!

Summary: Uchiha clan adopts Naruto to have more political influence. The story describes events that follow.

Warnings: one of the characters in romantic relationship is underage; violence; small amount of politics;

Beta: Healiel

**An Arrangement**

**Prologue**

The status of the Uchiha clan was not the same as it used to be.

Before, people remembered that Uchiha, along with Senju family, founded the Leaf village. Their clan was respected, loved and had influence. Civilians and shinobi were in awe of the power that was in their reach. Unbeatable, disciplined and trained since they were able to walk; it was no surprise that their name was known to every nation, be they friend or foe.

With time though, people turned in awe to other legends. Konoha's inhabitants had gotten used to seeing the clan members on the streets, and the Uchiha clan no longer had the power and influence they once had.

Their compound territory wasn't any more impressive than one that belonged to Hyuuga family and they were provided with it so they could be gathered in one area to be easily monitored. Since the Kyuubi's attack they were no longer trusted, as many believed they may have been involved.

All the political power they had now was one seat in military council of Konoha. The Daimyo was more impressed with the longevity of the Sandaime than the accomplishments of the active shinobi. And Sarutobi, the Sandaime, cared more about peace and _equality_, than the future of Konoha.

Fugaku scowled at the thought. If their plan did not work, the clan would gather and gain the power _with pure force_. Before that though, they'd try to do it the other way.

Silently, with a critical eye, the council of elders read his request. With each sentence, expressions turned sceptical, but from time to time, he saw a nod and an occasional contemplative frown.

The additional folders contained observations and arguments. Facts that everyone knew about, and some barely anyone had thought of. For example, Uzumaki Naruto was a jinchuuriki without parents and knowledge of his status or heritage. Sooner or later, his emotional state would dictate the amount of demonic chakra he lost control over. Sooner or later, other nations would learn of who he is, and do everything in their power to get rid of him, obtain him or examine him for whatever reasons. Other demon vessels, weapons for their home villages were on the high skill level that one would immediately assume the boy possessed, whether he was the rank of jounin or genin. That and the clear evidence that Uzumaki Naruto had no ties to this village other than his close relationship with Sarutobi, was ensuring that the boy had no loyalty to this place, no love and no plans. His childish dream of becoming a Hokage was just that, a dream that would not come true, but be forgotten as he grew up. To prevent that and use the boy's status in the best of ways, they had to act. The Uchiha clan prepared for what had to be done, and all he needed now, as the clan head, was an approval.

"There is a reason this boy was not adopted when the question arose. It is painfully obvious that any family that claimed the child might have influence over him, ensuring Uzumaki's loyalty." Spoke Homura Mitokado. The pair beside him, Danzo and Koharu, with folders in their hands, nodded in agreement. Fugaku opened his mouth to defend his case but the older man interrupted him and continued, "But I agree with your line of reasoning. That child needs surveillance, discipline and training to meet with the expectations of his position in this village. Position he's not yet aware of."

Shimura Danzo, who had been invited for this meeting, focused on one of the pages and pierced the clan head with a stare. "You gave a hint here, that Sharingan is one of the few tools that could control the power of the Kyuubi. Do you plan to train him in relation to that?"

Fugaku did not have a sufficient answer to that question, and neither did he have it when he was asked for it a second time by Sarutobi. It wasn't as if he had planned to avoid telling the boy the truth. It was quite the opposite really, as it was necessary to start training the jinchuuriki. But while the council was concerned with safety of Konoha, the Hokage - _that old man_, was concerned with the boy's mental and physical health. He was against revealing the secret to the boy as well as against any serious training, as it meant the end of childhood. But that blond menace had no childhood to begin with, so why not accept the change?

"I know what you're thinking. To tell you the truth, I am not against Naruto-kun having a family, if there's anything the boy needs the most, it's a loving environment." Here the man took a pipe in his hands. "But I also know Naruto-kun well enough to see where it would go. No matter what, he'd love his family and do everything in his power to please the people he loves. And love is a cruel thing, because we can kill for it, betray for it, die and live for it - as long as it reigns in our hearts." He filled the pipe with tobacco, lit it and inhaled the smoke deeply. Minutes ticked by, making all sort of thoughts flow through Fugaku's mind. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"I have an approval of the elder council, and I have the support of the whole clan behind me. We are ready to accept him as part of our family, prepare him for the future.."

"Will you protect him?" The Hokage interrupted with a note of annoyance tinged with slight amusement. "Can you ensure his safety? He is young, vulnerable and impressionable; can you keep his views neutral?"

The clan head frowned and fisted his hands. "His view is his own choice. He's old enough to perceive the world around him. We can protect him, yes, and make him stronger. Give him attention that he needs. I myself shall keep an eye on him, and if I am not enough, then there are other high skilled shinobi in my clan that can, my eldest son himself being one of them. "

Sarutobi exhaled and smiled. "Ah, Itachi, a young genius that keeps surprising those around him with his skills and impressive growth."

Seeing that for a moment the Hokage's gaze had become softer, Fugaku tried to even out his breathing and focus on persuading the man. "The boy dreams of becoming a powerful ninja. The Academy alone will not be sufficient enough to teach him skills other than the basic ones, and he has no guardian to guide him; and that is without the prejudiced academy instructors, that may _misguide_ him and sabotage his education."

A serious and powerful gaze met with his determined one. It spoke of the Hokage being aware of the things he had said, and being displeased with them. But it was also a positive sign for Fugaku as he breached a sensitive subject and reminded the man of failures.

Sarutobi picked the documents again and looked through the pages without reading. "All your propositions do not guarantee Naruto's safety." He voiced calmly, and those words broke Fugaku's hopes of succeeding. "Your request guarantees the safety of Konoha, your influence over the boy and influence over many other things additionally."

He took another inhale of the tobacco. The Hokage loosely placed the papers on the desk. He looked up and his expression spoke of contradictory emotions inside of him. It was as if he was absolutely against any idea Fugaku had, but something had stopped him from completely dismissing the man.

_If the Uchiha clan doesn't get Naruto, they might try to gain control over the government, or simply go and overthrow it. _That's what his sources had said._ Deny them now and regret it later. Or give in and regret it later. Not a perfect bunch of choices._

"What if we made a compromise?" He said aloud, as if he was speaking both to himself and his guest. The old man stood up and moved towards the window. Shortly, a minute later, smoke from the pipe started to surround him again. "You want to have Naruto-kun in your family, have influence over him and that's undeniable." A stern gaze was directed briefly towards the man. "I want to ensure Naruto-kun's safety, and of course, his growth in skills so that he could protect himself from harm and realize his dreams."

In a pause that formed after those words, Fugaku frowned. "You wish to make a condition, a requirement of sorts."

"Yes."

**Part One**

When Jiji asked if he wanted to be adopted by the clan that was the Police Force of the Leaf village he was greatly confused. In all his seven years, there had never been an offer like that before. He assumed it was because the villagers did not like him. They always scowled at him when they saw him, ignored him or simply avoided eye contact and stayed away from him. Rarely would people acknowledge him with a smile, a returned stare or alike, and most of those times they wore a ninja attire.

He recalled the district that belonged to one family, and as Jiji reminded him, it consisted of ninja that wore similar attires and protected the village from the inside. It was surprising that they wanted him in their family, as he didn't really know them, had no memory of any contact with them other than knowing the boy Uchiha Sasuke from his class. And even then, it was just a name as they didn't really speak to each other.

The offer had come out of nowhere, yes, but how could he say no? He had wanted to have a family for so long. Kami-sama had heard his prayer and his dream came true. Naruto ignored the little questions and doubts that emerged in his mind and being his optimistic self, allowed Fugaku-san who was also holding his belongings, to lead him into the territory of the clan, where he would meet those members of the family that would be closest to him. They were Uchiha Fugaku himself, the clan head, and his family, consisting of his wife Mikoto, and his sons, Itachi who was the eldest, and Sasuke, whom Naruto had already met. Then came Uchiha Teyaki and his wife Uruchi, an older couple that owned the senbei shop. They too would help in looking after him on everyday basis.

Naruto hoped that these people would be kind to him.

When he first took a closer look at Fugaku-san, he noticed that his face was stern, and that there were lots of thoughts plaguing his mind. Some of those were positive, and some were not. Nonetheless, he spotted a stone determination and it caused a shiver to travel down his spine.

Clan members they met on their way nodded to the older man and bowed to him, which reminded Naruto of how the villagers and ninja behaved around Hokage-Jiji. It was a form of respect they held. And most importantly to Naruto, they acknowledged even him with a smile, a smaller nod or some form of a greeting. It was exhilarating. If this was how his life could change after adoption, then he would never regret it.

The man's home was a place where he met the main family and an older pair that'd taken place of his parents and grandparents. There was an _awkward_ exchange of greetings, small introductions, and a quick meal in a tense atmosphere. Soon, the awkward small talk ended and Naruto found himself in the house where the old Uchiha couple lived. A room had been prepared for him, and they insisted that he got used to thinking of their house as his home. It wasn't big, but far larger than what Naruto was used to. He noticed that all the district consisted of similar buildings. The main house was the biggest though. The blond fleetingly wondered how the family felt in there, did they get lost and lonely often?

...Later that night, when his head finally hit the pillow, his tired and dizzy mind noted that he was happy to move in with the older married couple. In comparison to the stiff ,weird and formal behaviour of the main family- especially the cold, emotionless face of Itachi-san (he could not ever hope to imagine referring to the older boy without formality and fear born respect)-his main guardians seemed to be sincerely happy about his appearance in their lives. He didn't know if they had children that grew and left them or worse, died in war, but he felt that they wanted to treat him as their child. Happiness in their eyes was obvious. They were a bit older than he imagined, but older people were kinder, right? Before he knew it, he was given pyjamas, goodnight kisses, hair tousling and tight love filled hugs. All of the gestures he almost gave up hope to ever receive. That couple barely knew him, but opened up to him so fast that it was surreal. Was that what love looked like? If it stayed that way, then it was all he could wish for...

xxx

When he first met the blond boy that had joined his clan, Itachi had expected him to be as boisterous as he was on the streets, during the brief times he had seen him from a distance. On closer inspection though, he saw that Uzumaki was actually quite shy and seemed to be intimidated by the main Uchiha family.

Good. He didn't really like the idea of the blond coming into their lives, even though there were small chances of things working out for both of the sides. Firstly, the Uchiha clan had adopted the Uzumaki boy to gain the _loyalty_ of the Konoha jinchuuriki - to train him to be the weapon he was meant to be and use him for their own ends. Sandaime though, would stand in the way of those plans. Secondly, even if the boy _did_ benefit from the deal by receiving training, acknowledgement and a family of sorts, _he would still be used_, betrayed and turned into a machine. And then, finally, a part of the deal was on Itachi's own shoulders, which was maddening, irritating and utterly aggravating. He was definitely _not_ going to make things easier. Why him? Not taking into account his skills and age of course. But there were other candidates, Shisui for example.

He had other plans to take care of. The sudden change in his life had left the chuunin confused and lost. He had to analyze and predict the possible outcomes, and prevent the worst case scenario from coming true. Itachi scowled a bit, trying to control his expression. It was late and he had just returned from a stupid B-ranked delivery mission. As the district slowly came into view, he found himself remembering the events from two weeks ago. He hadn't seen the blond since the first day, and had hoped that missions would keep him occupied enough to not have to see the boy at all. Let Fugaku deal with it himself. Of course adopting the boy had been a better course of action than overthrowing the current Hokage but as he had already calculated, it had small chances of making anyone happy.

Maybe in several months time all the parties involved would realise their mistake and things might go back to the way it used to be.

Or it could get worse.

Nightlights showed him who was still up and those who had already gone to sleep. Itachi walked down the street hoping that his family belonged to the latter, and that he wouldn't have to deal with his father. Just as he gathered the air in his lungs and gave a long suffering sigh, Itachi saw a bright light from the corner of his eyes. It was coming from the roof a bit further away and had a steady, light blue, soft colour.

Alarmed, he jumped on the rooftop on the opposite side of the building to get a closer look.

A strange shape loomed in front of him. The shape was that of a large sphere, however, it appeared harmless. Would he have paid it this much attention if it was during the middle of the day? After inspecting the sight, which took him mere seconds, Itachi came to the conclusion that what he was seeing was chakra, and his Sharingan confirmed it. More so, it came from the same blonde boy he had thought of just moments before. Inwardly, the teen groaned. Was there no escape?

Uzumaki was probably meditating to have better access to and control over his chakra. It was a basic exercise straight out of the Academy, but he'd never seen anyone expel such large amounts of it. The sight in front of him was practically shining.

The blond was calmly sitting cross legged on top of the house that belonged to his guardians. The chakra did not have the slightest measure of the intent to kill, or _any_ intent for that matter, which was the reason Itachi wasn't aware of it until he saw the light for himself. He remembered what his father had told him. Uzumaki had no basic knowledge of chakra, not even that of an academy first year and especially none that one would assume a boy who wanted to become a shinobi one day ought to possess. His teachers would have to start from scratch. But after seeing what he saw now, he had no doubt that the boy would surprise his instructors quite a few times in the future.

Itachi's tense posture relaxed and with mixed feelings, he went home. He hoped that no one would spot him, least of all that blond.

xxx

Shuffling, they walked together towards academy.

Instead of words, they exchanged meaningful glances.

So, are we brothers now? Or cousins?

Or relatives of sorts.

Yeah.

You're that other guy in class.

...Yeah.

Didn't they need words to say what was on their minds? It seemed whatever one thought, the other already had a response to. It was weird to walk in silence and still feel like they had spent hours just talking.

We go to the academy together now. The same route, the same classes, the same lessons.

Right, and we're in the same age group, remember?

We may be from the same clan now, but we look totally different from each other. Dark hair, light hair. Black eyes, blue eyes. Quiet, loud...

Soon, the adults will start insisting that we train together. Which one of us is stronger, faster?

This will be fun.

...Rumours quickly spread around the village and soon everyone knew that Naruto had been adopted by a respected, well known, and large clan. Each day, as they walked through the village, something changed in the way the people looked at Naruto. Some gave him curious glances, some looked like they were greatly satisfied with something and others continued to glare. But the change was there and it brought a smile upon Naruto's face.

Sasuke glanced his way suspiciously, as if to ask _What are you smiling about_?

In response the blond grinned, showing his teeth and squinting his eyes, as if to say _I'm just happy_.

Even though Naruto still wasn't comfortable enough in Sasuke's presence to be himself - to be loud, to speak without stopping and jump in one place, he revelled in the way Sasuke's presence made him feel. The bond that was forming between them promised to rival that of real brothers. Sasuke, on the other hand, could finally relate to someone who wasn't older or smarter, and _did_ spend large amounts of time with him.

The adults saw that too.

When they ate lunch, Naruto took out extra bag of senbei, wrapped and ready for Sasuke, and in turn, Sasuke took out additional bento his mother prepared for his new brother. Or Sasuke brought something sweet to share, while Naruto's guardians prepared a meal for two. It was funny, and it was fulfilling.

Naruto tried harder in class. Once he realized that Sasuke had better grades than him and was always ready with a famous Uchiha smirk every time someone uttered the 'Sasuke is the best' praise, he wanted to show that he was no loser either.

Weeks after gaining a family, putting on shirts with a fan symbol beside the swirl and feeling like his life started anew, Naruto knew that he could not regret agreeing to the adoption. So why was Sandaime-Jiji's face so sad when he asked Naruto if he was sure?

xxx

A month later

As Naruto appeared in their lives, he shifted the balance that seemed to have existed for years, and should have for years to come. Places that were taken by members of the family, and positions that were once reserved, were switched all of a sudden without any real explanation. For example, Itachi was always the child that had most of the attention. When he was young, everyone gave him attention to train him, test him, and help him grow. When he graduated, everyone praised him and surrounded him with admiration and adoration. And when Itachi was promoted to chuunin, everyone looked at him, treated him and spoke of him as if he were elite. His place, and his position was on a pedestal. Now though, it looked like its height had sunk.

As Sasuke looked at his brother and his father, he wondered what made them behave differently. Usually each time the man looked at his elder son or addressed him, there was a sense of pride in his voice. Sasuke knew of it well because it was something he craved for. For the man to have that pride and belief in him too. The hours of special training Itachi received from their father had always left Sasuke with a bitter taste in his mouth. He was jealous. But now there was no pride in those eyes, no accomplishment in that voice. Father felt sadness, resignation. Why? He could hide it from people that did not care to look closer, but Sasuke, who had always paid attention to the smallest details of facial expressions, the subtlest tones of the voice and words his father spoke, just knew that there was a change. Enormous change. And Itachi, he had changed too.

Where was the honest smile that made Sasuke feel loved? His older brother may dismiss him, repeat he had no time for him thousands of times, but never with annoyance hidden somewhere behind that mask. And he and their father no longer spent hours in each other's company, or in meetings of the clan. If he didn't know better, Sasuke would've thought that Itachi was being purposely ignored. For what reason?

Why since Naruto appeared in their lives, had everything changed? The older pair, aunt Uruchi and uncle Teyaki stopped being simple members of the clan that lived nearby. He never saw them receiving the nods, the warmer greetings, the respectful bows they were treated with now. And Naruto himself, received smiles from stoic Uchiha. Especially females, as it looked like their gender let them crack their mask a bit more. But was that behaviour honest, or forced? Living in a family of pretenders, one learned to see the difference, even if one did not know nor understand the source. And he wouldn't have thought of it much if it wasn't for the quivering smile on Naruto's own face. Like, his new brother noticed it as well, but kept up with the show. Why?

For Sasuke himself, a change of positions was even greater, because he no longer was the younger brother of the genius, but the promising son of the clan head. Father paid more attention to him in the last month alone than he had the last half a year. But Sasuke had done nothing to gain that much of his father's time. And it wasn't just some additional hour to see where Sasuke stood, no, it was drilling lesson after lesson each day. Sometimes in the company of Itachi, or Shisui, or some other shinobi. And Sasuke wasn't alone in this. Naruto was present every second of it, getting as much, if not more. Like today.

They were throwing kunai using targets. Their postures, angles and aim were corrected to the smallest and stupidest details, from fingers to toes, from the bent knee to eyelashes. Where did that drive to make them perfect come from? Was there war looming over horizon?

Sasuke glanced at his older brother and father from where he stood under the tree. They looked at each other differently, and there was something like disappointment or dare he say it, loathing under Itachi's skin. Since Naruto appeared, Itachi was more emotional, and easier to read, even. Father, as he had started to expect, looked resigned.

Then Sasuke glanced at Naruto.

And promptly stared.

How after hours of training could the blond still go on? They had been throwing kunai and shuriken at the intended target for at least three hours, and Sasuke could not rise off the ground, he was breathless and covered in sweat. He would have smirked at the knowledge of having a slightly better score than Naruto, but it was obvious that if the blond could train twice as long as Sasuke, he'd have no problem in catching up and going further. There was not a bead of sweat on him and not a hint of panting. Where was all that energy stored? In senbei? No way.

Naruto's aim wasn't perfect, but judging from the level he had started from, namely, zero, which Sasuke was an unfortunate witness to, he could assume that his progress was quite visible. A thud of the weapon imbedding itself into the board and light that reflected off the metal surface brought Sasuke back to reality.

No, he couldn't let Naruto be better. They will be equals, not like Sasuke and Itachi. Itachi was too far away, too perfect and too powerful, but Naruto was here, growing just like he was growing, learning at the same pace, at the same time.

A grin that formed on Sasuke's face at the thought faded though, because his father had a grin too, but not when looking at Sasuke, rather, when seeing Naruto still standing, still throwing and ...hitting.

_Why did you change our lives? No, that's a wrong question. Why did your appearance in our family change everyone and everything so much?_

xxx

Four months later

After avoiding the blond child like the plague, trying to stay in shadows so that he didn't get any more attention than he already did, Itachi came to a conclusion that it had come to bite him.

The beautiful warm night in Konoha, with the shiny stars and the silent streets, found them at the pool in the compound. Naruto sat on the edge of the dock with his legs hanging down above the water. Usually that was Sasuke's spot, and Itachi sometimes visited the place too. Like tonight, when he wanted to rest and stare at the calm surface for awhile before he had to go home.

They could share.

But if there was any relationship or understanding between them, it was strained. Since the beginning, because of his foul mood, Itachi was quite cold toward the child and he did not fix that in their brief encounters. If he approached the blond now he did not know how the boy would react.

Especially since it looked like Naruto was crying.

Ah, right, it was a sob, caught by his sensitive hearing that stopped Itachi's advance in the first place. Now he was torn between leaving to avoid confrontation and getting closer to comfort the boy. If he left, he couldn't be sure if Naruto went to his guardians with whatever troubled him, but if he stayed, he couldn't be sure that he might make it worse. The blond's presence here, though, meant that he didn't trust others with his problem and therefore had found this place to hide. In the middle of the night no less. To be truthful to himself, he wasn't particularly keen on approaching Uzumaki without a well thought out plan, but seeing him like this, so young and innocent, reminded him of Sasuke. If it was his younger brother, he'd never hesitate in coming to the rescue. And really, it wasn't Naruto's fault, what had happened in their lives. Out of all the parties he was the least informed one, and the most used. Shouldn't Itachi give him support, instead of the cold shoulder?

He should, but not without a plan. Careful so as not to make any noise, the teen stepped back off the dock, but his hope was crashed as one joist groaned under his foot.

The blond as a result, spun to see the intruder, revealing a tear stained face. And as they stared at each other, all Itachi could think of was the impossibility of him forgetting any joist that made noise. He knew which one to step on, so the only explanation could be that the new one had become old, strained and joined the choir in recent times. Well, he couldn't lose composure, so he strolled to the edge where Naruto was sitting as if it had been his intention since the beginning.

Itachi stopped beside Naruto, one step behind, and watched as the boy rubbed his face and tried to fix his disarranged hair.

"Good evening."

"Good morning."

They spoke at the same time, though Itachi's greeting was more correct. Morning was several hours away, after all. Apprehensive about the uninvited company, the boy kept avoiding Itachi's studying gaze and fidgeted as if he could feel it travel all over his form.

"What happened, Naruto?" Itachi asked and noticed Naruto gulp.

"Nothing." An embarrassed smile and scratching the back of the head accompanied the word. Obviously he was lying, but what did Itachi expect? A heart wrenching, sincere confession? His looks and general behaviour had prompted people to stay away, fear him, doubt his motives and actions and avoid confrontations at all cost. Rumours about his skills and intelligence had not helped. He did not care to fix the image but at times like this he wondered if people expected him to become a shinobi monster, not just an elite jounin.

"It's not nothing." Itachi calmly insisted. "I will find out sooner or later anyway, but if you tell me now, I may be able to help."

The blond looked up incredulously, like he'd never believe the teen wanted to help him in any way. Then his eyes turned sad. "It's not something anyone can help me with." In resignation Naruto rubbed his face, to stall the tears, maybe.

"Try me." Itachi pushed a bit, with a tiny, soft smile that always worked on Sasuke and their mother.

A sigh and a minute of contemplative silence later, Naruto whispered. "You probably know anyway. ...Everyone knew except for me."

Something clicked in Itachi's mind and he hoped that what he suspected wasn't true. Because it shouldn't be.

"Today I found out, or rather was told about, the Fox." Blue eyes glanced sideways to see if Itachi was shocked by the news or wasn't in the least surprised. But glimpsing the stony, emotionless face of the teen he hastily turned away.

The military council had agreed to let the Uchiha train Naruto in the use of his jinchuuriki abilities. After the improvement the boy had showed in academy and his progress regarding lessons at home, the council had discussed his early graduation and emphasis they want to put into his jinchuuriki development. Barely months had passed, and those old people already wanted to mould him into a weapon, 'with the support of the loving family and healthy environment' of course. Itachi did not expect though, that Naruto would be told of the Kyuubi before graduation. Simply because the boy wasn't ready.

With a soft sigh, the teen took off his sandals and sat down beside Naruto. The water reached his ankles; it felt pleasant, and he moved his feet a bit to add creases to the calm surface of the pond.

"You're upset about the truth." He voiced, instead of admitting that there wasn't anything he could do about Naruto's situation. If he said that he couldn't help, he'd take away any hope left in the boy, which could push him into depression, recklessness, self harm and many other things. The child sitting next to him grimaced, and Itachi translated that what he had said hadn't been _exactly_ right.

Fiddling with the hem of his shirt, the boy spoke, very quietly, unsure of himself. "I'm upset, yeah, there ...there was no reason for it to be _me_, you know? I think it's _not fair_. Not fair that the Yondaime chose me, even if I'm partly proud of being the child he chose over others; not fair that instead of ignoring this stupid thing the villagers glared at me as if blaming me for the trouble the Fox wrought." Another glance was shot Itachi's way, to see how the teen had reacted to the words. Did Naruto expect him to protect the villagers? Was he afraid that Itachi would take their side? That like many others, he believed the boy to be the demon he housed?

"It's not fair because if it wasn't for that stupid fox I could be adopted like all other normal children." The blond added timidly. Implying that he _wanted_ to be a part of the family, but hadn't been given a chance before. Now he knew the reason why and it looked like he didn't know how to deal with it. He could deny the knowledge but the fact would not change. He could live with it but could no longer return the stares without understanding. And the worst part was, that it really wasn't his fault, and it wasn't fair.

"We cannot change what has been done. You have to accept things the way they are, without despair. Grow strong from it, and move further." Itachi tried to sound simple and wise. He hoped that Naruto would _not_ believe that the clan had pushed and forced his education out of kindness. And Naruto needed to face the reality, not run from it.

"So I should accept this new training? In control... of the demon's chakra?" The boy looked up hopefully.

The teen frowned in thought. If Naruto refused then Fugaku would try to insist, to convince him that this was good for the clan and for the village as a whole. That Naruto's skill would protect people, and subtle hints would lead the blond to believe that he could become a hero of the village, just like the Yondaime and the Sandaime. It wasn't untrue, surely, but Naruto was an impressionable child and the clan head was a very manipulative man that went after power. And that power was now within reach, all he had to do was nourish it and direct it in the most beneficial way. The boy wouldn't be able to resist the prompting. And with approval of the council, which also included the Hokage now, resisting could only go so far.

"Sooner or later, you'd start it anyway. May as well do it now, than later." _Than wait for the crowd to become agitated and impatient. _

The boy blinked at the statement, which as the previous, was simple and logical. "...Oh, all right then."

Silence enveloped them as both gazed at the calm surface of the water, disturbed only by the little shifts and movements Itachi's feet made. It was comfortable, now that Naruto had calmed down and became softly immersed in his own thoughts. Itachi relaxed, in no hurry to stop the moment of peace. It felt like the wall of stone between them, that had appeared with tension and coldness since their first encounter, melted and dissolved at last. Itachi knew that it was there and ignored it without realizing how good it felt without it standing in between them.

After what felt like forever, the teen looked sideways at the blond. "Better now?"

The boy gave a small genuine smile. "Yes. Thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

_Keep you in the dark_

_You know they all pretend_

_Keep you in the dark_

_And so it all began_

_Send in your skeletons_

_Sing as their bones go marching in again_

_They need you buried deep_

_The secrets that you keep are ever ready_

_Are you ready?_

_I'm finished making sense_

_Done pleading ignorance_

_That whole defence_

_Spinning infinity_

_Boy, the wheel is spinning me_

_It's never ending, never ending_

_Same old story_

_What if I say I'm not like the others?_

_What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?_

_You're the pretender_

_What if I say that I will never surrender?_

_In time or so I'm told_

_I'm just another soul for sale, oh well_

_The page is out of print, we are not permanent_

_We're temporary, temporary_

_Same old story_

_What if I say I'm not like the others?_

_What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?_

_You're the pretender_

_What if I say that I'll never surrender?_

_I'm the voice inside your head you refuse to hear_

_I'm the face that you have to face, mirroring your stare_

_I'm what's left, I'm what's right, I'm the enemy_

_I'm the hand that'll take you down, bring you to your knees_

_So who are you? Yeah, who are you?_

_Yeah, who are you? Yeah, who are you?_

_Keep you in the dark, you know they all pretend_

_What if I say I'm not like the others?_

_What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?_

_You're the pretender_

_What if I say I will never surrender?_

_So who are you? Yeah, who are you?_

_Yeah, who are you?_

'**The Pretender'** by Foo fighters, lyrics

* * *

_A year and half later._

It was quiet, too quiet in the area.

The trees were silent, even if the leaves moved soundlessly in the wind. Insects that usually made a background noise seemed to escape this place, as if feeling that something was coming. The forest nearby Konoha, so lively and green and welcoming, looked ominous.

That was probably the reason the eyes that were so blissfully closed in sleep, opened to inspect the change. Slated, watchful, knowing.

And, with a shift in the air, that must've been a command of sort, several things happened at once. A snap of a twig, a jump of the owner of the slated eyes, a shout of 'get it!', a bark, a hiss, and then a dash.

Then the sound of rustling in the bushes and a loud snap of something closing.

"Yes!" Shouted a pair of boys simultaneously, clapping their hands in a 'high five' move, quite pleased with themselves. A girl that stood not far from them sighed in exasperation, shaking her head.

High on the branch of the tree, a man in a jounin attire adjusted his glasses with a smile, looking down at his team. Naruto and Sasuke, brothers that in looks were completely opposite to each other, loomed over the cage that trapped Tora , the cat of the Daimyo's wife. Sasuke wore the colours of clan, blue shirt and white shorts, shorts that now did not look so white anymore; he had to remember to suggest a change of outfit. A headband with a plate was tied traditionally to cover the boy's forehead. Naruto, even though was brighter than his brother in behaviour, wore darker colours, black for pants and dark orange for the elbow length t-shirt. The girl that looked and _was_ older than the duo turned away from the trio of puppies at her feet to scold the Uchiha about teasing, provoking and angering the cat that hissed from within the trap.

"Stop mocking it, brats. An angry animal is one enemy that will remember your scent and have revenge in the future. Besides, you forget that I and my boys did most of the work. So if anyone has the right to gloat, it would be me." The girl taunted, and straightened herself to add her height as an emphasising point, for a better effect. For her young age, she sure had the height and assets to show, things she did not hide, wearing short black shorts, and a red top. Her metal plate with a red strap was tied on her right arm. "Right, sensei?"

The jounin folded his arms, straightening too, and stayed on the branch to show the effect that he was looking down on them with authority. "Not exactly, Hana-chan, Haimaru brothers,"

"They have names, you know!" The girl interrupted and placed her fisted hands on her hips.

The jounin closed his eyes behind glasses and took a deep breath in. "I will not say three names to list all your partners, I think two words to describe them is sufficient enough. Now, as I started before I was so rudely interrupted," he added a glare his students could not see but could identify because he had lowered his head and his lips had formed a thin, tight line. "Haimaru brothers tracked the scent of Tora the cat, and directed it's sprint to escape, but it was Sasuke who suggested a trap of any sort to catch the target if it was too quick for their hands, and it was Naruto who had prepared, created the trap and organized the final attack. Arguing and fighting aside, I think all of you did a good job."

Smiling in response to the praise, the trio of genin grabbed the cage made of twigs. A group leer directed at the mewling creature was one of the things his pupils did as a team, and Ebisu was more than happy for the progress. Yes, team Ebisu was not as promising the day they met...

Flashback

_As Hana walked to the training ground that was supposed to be the place for the meeting with her assigned team, she wondered if she'd be lucky. Maybe there would be older genin with experience who would accept her and help her grow stronger? She was hoping that her earlier graduation might impress them. It was just one year earlier, but still it said something about her skills. Her partners were jumping and running at her feet excitedly, following her. They walked through the gates with number 2 written on them and Hana noted that the slight wind carried the scent of three people. Scents she did not recognize but at least one of them seemed familiar._

_All too soon, she saw the profile of the stern looking guy in glasses that most probably was a jounin, though he wore no flak jacket and his metal plate was on the bandanna. Most probably, because in front of him there stood a pair of boys who could not possibly be ninja. They were small, too small to be anything but his nephews or whatever. And they had the gall to pretend that they were serious and all grown up. She could see it in the way they folded their arms, imitating the jounin; in the way their faces were unusually business oriented. Now she remembered one of them, the blonde one, who had a specific, sharp scent. Not too long ago everyone had gossiped about how this boy had been adopted by Uchiha clan and people speculated about the reason behind it and how it would change the boy's life. The other boy beside him could be the real Uchiha, now that she took a closer look. His colouring was certainly indicative of the fact. _

_She walked closer to the trio that stood under the largest tree in the area and wondered where were her team-mates? Was the older man her jounin? "Ebisu-san?" She asked when she was five steps away from them._

"_Yes, that's me. Inuzuka Hana, I presume." The man nodded and smiled. "Nice to meet you."_

_Hana grinned and when the jounin reached out with his hand, she shook it, already liking the way things had started. Then he gestured at the pair of boys. "These are the Uchiha brothers, Naruto," he pointed at the blond who grinned as she turned to him and instead of shaking her offered hand, kissed the back of it, going for a gentlemanly style. Then he smirked at his brother. "and Sasuke." He pointed at the dark haired brat, who opted to shake her hand as he gave his brother a meaningful look, as if not accepting his challenge._

"_Boys, this beautiful girl, kunoichi, is your team-mate." The jounin informed them pleasantly._

_Hana nodded and opened her mouth to introduce her dog partners when the last word she heard finally settled in her mind. "Wait, you mean these snot nosed brats are my team-mates?" She exclaimed indignantly, pointing at the two boys that looked shocked with her sudden change in behaviour._

"_Yes, they are."_

"_She just insulted us!"_

"_Is she bipolar?"_

_All three of the males replied at the same time._

_She twitched with an unknown emotion and then a slow grin appeared on her, at the moment, twisted face. "It's a trick, you've gotta be making fun of me. They have no headbands! If it's a test of observation skills then I'll pass it without a problem!"_

_Instead of confirming her suspicions and praising her, all three of them turned sour and red in their faces, out of embarrassment, she supposed. _

"_Um, uh..."_

"_Eh, well, you see.."_

"_We left them in the ninja shop to change the materials and colour." Sasuke muttered with a dark shadow over his eyes, embarrassed further by Naruto's and Ebisu's stutter._

_Hana had a twitch on her temple and would have discarded the explanation if it wasn't for the jounin's flush. Which proved the story to be true, as no jounin would humiliate themselves in that way._

"_This must be a joke." She said, later, when Naruto was playing with Hakuen, one of triplets, and Sasuke had tied a white headband over his forehead. The blond chose to follow her example and tied his black one on the left arm._

"_I can't believe I'm in a team with worthless brats my brother's age." She stared dubiously at Uchiha boys that argued about something while discussing her dog partners. Their voices were so high, a pitch that ringed in her head, or was it her imagination? "How am I gonna live through this?" She asked aloud to no one in particular, but Ebisu, who appeared to be standing at her side, sighed at the sight of a fight that was starting between the brothers and answered her life and death query._

"_Treat them like pets, like your dogs. It will get easier, believe me."_

End of flashback

xxx

This was his personal training spot.

Not official place because it was in the territory of the district, but well known enough so that no one other than him had access.

Targets were designed for his own techniques and if anyone planned to visit, they usually had to inform him before. Itachi knew all that perfectly, Uchiha clan knew all that perfectly and respected his privacy and his personal space, so to speak. And Uzumaki Naruto knew all that as well, but unlike the others, he seemed to lack common sense at times, or wanted to be that _different_. Or wanted to make Itachi's life _that_ difficult.

Here he was, after organizing the wires, targets and traps, and he just knew that the blond was here, watching him and waiting.

Thud after thud, Itachi performed his standard list of exercises, while keeping an eye on the troublesome boy. He wanted to concentrate more on expressing his irritation and stress over the fact that despite his skill level, accomplished missions and experience he had not been promoted to the rank of jounin, and had not received missions above B-rank. What's more, it seemed he no longer had a chance to become a leader in any team, and was almost cuddled by the Sandaime. Itachi of course, knew the source of all this, but that did not mean he had to like it. He used more force in throwing the kunai and it imbedded itself halfway into the board. If the blond hadn't been there, going from one shadow of the tree to the other, he would've been less careful about keeping his temper and reactions in check. But as it stood, even here, there was no privacy, and no time for release.

Annoyed beyond his usual limits, Itachi cut the invisible wire that was supposed to be snapped after he hit one of the targets, and made four steps to the left side. As he did, a puff of smoke somewhere above revealed a large balloon of water. It fell down and broke in the place where he had previously stood. Naruto must've observed him often enough to learn his positions, his turns in actions. Considerable amounts of water splashed impressively and droplets managed to get on his clothes and revealed skin. Especially his feet. If he was splashed directly, the sight would not be pretty; he'd look like a loser.

"Good luck next time, Naruto. This prank did not work on me either." Itachi voiced in a bored manner, while reaching for another kunai in his pouch and preparing to launch an attack that was next on his list.

The blond jumped out of the shadows in the bushes. "I swear you must have eyes on your back, Itachi. It's impossible that you saw me prepare that trap!"

The teen beat down the urge to roll his eyes. "I did see you. So you need to try harder." That boy was a menace. And his prank-filled nature just had to choose Itachi as a target to pursue and torture.

Naruto raised his finger to point at the teen, trembling. "Fine. But I bet Fugaku-san will not be as lucky to escape my ambush!" He finished with a wide, satisfied smile. He promptly ran in the direction of the street where the main house was.

Shocked at the revelation and scared to even imagine what would be the result of Naruto's joke, Itachi turned and dashed to stop the foolish boy. "No, Naruto! Not father, you'll regret it!" he shouted to stop him and lost his footing in a hurry. For some reason, as he fell and braced himself to face the ground, his calculations deceived him and the fall continued for a bit longer than he had anticipated.

And he did not fall on the ground, but into mud water...

As he emerged through the heavy surface a shaky breath later, a wildly beating heart accompanied him, he had a feeling of being really, really wet and dirty. _And looking like a loser, which is not worth mentioning_, Itachi opened his protesting lids to finally see the source of loud laughter. Naruto held his sides, so hard was his amusement it seemed_. And I'm dripping with disgusting mud this boy managed to find, and place in this hole he had dug especially for me. _

He stood in the square hole, which was quite deep, since the water reached his chest. The situation wasn't pleasant and wasn't funny, but Itachi found himself strangely happy. After all, all his anger, disappointment and hurt from moments before had disappeared the moment he was so rudely tricked. Instead of a smile though, he felt like crying, because it wasn't fair to put even the least bit of blame and resentment towards Naruto, the boy who had tried to bring happiness, a carefree attitude and warmth to the clan. Glinting tear of happiness and righteousness though, was interpreted wrongly by the blond who stopped laughing and crawled on the grass closer to Itachi, with fear on his concerned face.

"Oh no, Itachi, it was just a joke! Come on, you're not gonna cry are you?" He asked and watched as the teen's lips started to tremble. "Oh shit! Oh God, I did not mean to hurt you, I swear!" He got to the edge of the hole and wound his arms around Itachi's neck in a show of comfort.

Itachi's lips gave up fighting the urge to smirk and the teen grabbed the blond and pushed him into the hole filled with dirt too, before Naruto had a chance to register what was happening.

Another splash later, the prankster emerged and splattered and spat quite indignantly. "_Cough_. Damn, fine. _Cough, spit_. You got your revenge. Happy?" he added a glare for good measure.

"Almost." Itachi muttered, spitting too, and then placing his palms on top of Naruto's head, pushed down to drown him again. The blond's arms waved in all directions, and his body wriggled in hold as a result, but the action was harmless and for the next half an hour they used the square trap as a playground for the stupid mud fight they never mentioned in front of anyone, ever.

7 months later

As Itachi walked back from questionable activities and places, through the most lively and populated street in the village, he noted that he did not have a reason to worry that he was being followed. A year, or even half a year before there'd be a pair of eyes watching him, from the visit to the Sandaime, to the lunch break in the dango shop. Now though, as he posed no threat, seemingly, and did not make a progress as astonishing as his promotion to chuunin in the age of ten, as he had four years ago, he did not make the same impression on the civilians or on people of high official position likewise.

The thought calmed him a little, and disappointed him too. He was glad to have more freedom in his movements, more privacy, and still, it felt like he was being stomped on. It was almost humiliating. Almost, considering the circumstances.

There was also a feeling present, that soon, he would no longer have to, dare he admit it, spy on his own family, as traitorous acts toward their village were not at the forefront of their minds and actions, for months. A sort of relief washed over him, and he wondered if his exploits had contributed at least a bit to that.

The information he gathered that'd be most useful now, concerned Naruto, and it was a thread that kept his observations important for others, and kept him away from connecting it to anything else. It's like he had stopped then, when he was tied to the boy. He had stopped growing, going in the direction he saw in front of himself. That realization wasn't as bitter as he had felt in the beginning though. Now it was warmth mixed with disappointment, neutrality mixed with excitement.

A deep sigh left him, taking a bit of concern with it. It's not like he was lost or had nothing to live for. Eventually, he'd get used to the thought of Fugaku throwing the main training, and then responsibilities onto Sasuke. Eventually he'd get used to the bind and find himself in a new position. And eventually, he'd appreciate the actions of the clan head, actions that stopped the tragedy from occurring, even at the cost of, well, Itachi wanted to spend the day at least _trying_ to think of something else. Especially since Naruto kept growing, in age and skill, and his genin team took harder, and more serious missions. A team that also consisted of his younger brother. He kept wondering if the last training and advice had taught the blond something that'd protect his life, or the life of a potentially new Uchiha heir.

Suddenly a sharp stab of pain erupted somewhere in his chest, making Itachi bend over and cough painfully. As his palm reflectively covered the mouth, he almost expected it to be covered in blood. He ignored people around him that had stopped and watched him with concern, asking useless questions. As he gazed down, Itachi noted that his palm had no blood on it, but it could just as well, from the amount of pain he felt. Where had it come from?

xxx

"We live in a little town miles from here." The teenage girl answered and smiled. Her short brown hair moved in the wind, and green eyes sparkled with a sunny mood. "It may be hours away, and isn't on the general map, but I really don't know what uncle is worried about." She glanced at the older man, of medium height, who just like her, had green eyes, but his brown hair were grey in several places. And he had a thick beard that made him look even older. Far older than Ebisu.

The said jounin, who at least deemed it appropriate to wear the vest for this mission, gave the girl a blinding smile. "Of course he's worried, Taka-san, there are males out there on the road that could turn into bandits at the sight of your beauty!"

Hana, who walked at the front with the Haimaru brothers sniffing the potential threats, did not turn around to speak, though her teammates, Uchiha brothers that knew her by this point well enough, could imagine a twitch of her temple. "I don't think that was a compliment. You make a fool of yourself, sensei."

A tragic tear slid down the man's face from under the glasses, to show how much his student had hurt him with that statement. Hopefully, he turned to the boys for support, but they shook their heads. "You shouldn't even attempt to flirt with a client, not to mention Mata-san who is right here and may not like your attitude toward his niece." Sasuke clarified, sounding ashamed to have the man as a jounin sensei. To show that it was true, the client that had hired them for protection, Mata-san as he preferred to be called, gave Ebisu a glare that could burn the man alive, if glares could kill.

A sigh full of suffering escaped the closet pervert, but thankfully, he did not deny his students' assertion.

Sasuke agreed that Taka looked nice; she had curves, a beautiful smile and was polite. Also she seemed to babble about useless topics from time to time, filling the air with her excitement and good mood, but it was a good change from boring speeches Ebisu-sensei made about the life of a ninja. She looked ordinary, and it made her all that much sweeter. The pervert though, didn't have to speak of it aloud. They were in the middle of a mission, and it did not matter if the mission was boring, absolutely safe and empty of the threat even a natural disaster could pose. The jounin should show readiness to face every problem, and act without emotional involvement, as the academy said, right?

Hours later

Facing shinobi that was years older and had far more experience, Sasuke wondered if he'd live to see another day. All the boredom this mission offered appeared to be an illusion that was discarded the moment the enemy decided to show their face. Now here he was, alone, with chaos of thoughts in his head, ready to do something he didn't know or yet realize. Sooner or later though, the day came when C-rank mission was more than it seemed and one had to survive or give up. And here he thought it was strange that this town they travelled to had a shortcut. Alright, everyone took shortcuts, when one knows the area enough to find a way. But isn't travelling by the main road nicer and safer? No, Mata-san claimed that they knew better. Fine. And team Ebisu agreed.

They shouldn't have. They should have noticed the little strange things, signs that could change everything. Instead, like the utter tree huggers they were known nationwide, they believed every word the pair had said. And now enemy got them into the trap.

"I give you the option to walk away unharmed." Mata or whatever he was really called informed him, playing with tanto and looking Sasuke up and down like he saw a little weak child and took pity. With a frown marring his face, the boy remembered the sudden attack that had come from their own clients. One moment they were walking in the direction of the unknown town that wasn't yet in sight, and the next, Hana had said something about people moving from ahead of them. Both Taka and Mata, no longer looking like they had full trust in the skills of genin team and followed in between, turned on them, no longer looking like civilians either. They turned and promptly engaged Ebisu-sensei in a fight. Sasuke was glad that none of them froze at that, and thanked father for all those surprise attacks that trained reaction and reflexes;instincts kicked in and all three of them rushed to help their jounin out or at least separate the attackers. The tactic did not work though, because people Haimaru's brothers had discerned already reached them, and did not look like simple witnesses or civilians. Those were shinobi as well and they quickly saw that Hana and her dogs were a bigger threat, so they knocked her out with superior speed and strength. The moment her head hit the ground, Sasuke expected to hear a crack, and hoped that whatever sound came, was from his own imagination and not reality, because he wasn't ready to think of how severe her injury was. Now she was unconscious, with her puppies surrounding her protectively, still somewhere there, at the place where the attack started. She didn't even have time to use any of her special jutsus.

"Nothing will change, you either lose by retreating, or you lose by getting injured." The man said with a smile, looking pointedly at Sasuke's white knuckles and the kunai that he held in his fists.

"Why would you let me go?" Sasuke asked to buy time. He wondered if the face he studied was a professional henge, or the man's true looks. Rather henge, because only a fool would use their true appearance in the strategy these people had prepared. They put on the civilian's clothes, behaved like civilians and even spoke of trivial matters, without revealing a hint of their intentions. But maybe, their lack of curiosity concerning shinobi matters should have been a clue. After all, civilians are more often than not too curious not to ask questions, especially those young, like Taka.

Returning his attention to the pursuer, Sasuke found that the man wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything, but the moment passed quickly, and he was afraid the man would lose patience. But Sasuke couldn't let him go. One of those shinobi, the one that notably had Iwa headband, already went past him and if he gave up and did not engage Mata in the fight, this man would go in the same direction, after his brother, and Sasuke would rather receive a grave wound and die, than step back.

"You're not a target, it's simple." Sasuke finally heard the impatience in the man's voice.

"And my brother is? Why?" He risked, wondering if he'd be alive long enough to keep that information, if he had it in the first place, of course. But the grin that he received in response wasn't an answer to anything, and the next seconds of struggle as the jounin level shinobi toyed with him were humiliating and full of dread. Even when he managed to surprise the man with fire jutsus, he saw the gap between a genin and a jounin that brought him to a new level of despair. The guy had no trouble evading the threat and when he got bored, which was about two minutes later, he brought Sasuke down with simple hits on his kneecaps. And when a last blow was coming from behind his head, he wondered what the attackers wanted with Naruto, and if his brother had managed to get away.

xxx

At the beginning the order of separating didn't sound bad. Ebisu-sensei had shouted something about protecting Hana himself and finding them later when he was done with his assailant. So listening to the man, Naruto and Sasuke ran, taking after them three of the shinobi. Taka who was also a traitor, kunoichi on top of it all, joined in the taijutsu attack on sensei so it sure should change the man's habit of flirting with every pretty lady.

And then Naruto noted that while they landed heavy hits on _him_, Sasuke was simply shoved away. It showed who they wanted to get to, and Naruto hoped that Sasuke didn't suffer because of it. The only thing that made him different from other genin on this team was his jinchuuriki status, so logically, it was what lured the enemy. What they planned was unclear though, to kill him? Kidnap him? What was _worse_?

And then one actually managed to pierce his chest with a smaller version of a kunai, right under the collarbone. It must've pushed Sasuke to tell him to run while he took on two of the enemies, one of them the beard guy who pretended to be a client. Unsure of whether it would work or not, Naruto agreed; if all those shinobi went after him, Sasuke, Hana and maybe even Ebisu-sensei would be out of danger. He was responsible for their trouble, after all.

But then as his pathetic fire and mediocre wind techniques did not work on the pursuer, and the second attacker joined all too soon, Naruto wasn't so fond of the suggestion of separating. Especially since he still didn't know what those ninja planned. Trees did not give much cover either, so running wouldn't let him get away. And those black clad, masked shinobi were fast, extremely single minded. Iwa symbols on the plates did not say much, beside the apparent use of earth jutsus. Thankfully, the wound sealed itself and before he knew it, the pain was gone. Naruto suspected though, that his endurance did not count in this situation. The attackers were at least on a high chuunin level, and without doubt there were jounin among them.

They tried to get closer, to prevent him from using ninjutsu and assaulted him with projectiles. After several shuriken were embedded in his limbs, limbs that protected his middle body, only a cloak of Fox chakra protected him from further damage. Thankfully, his teammates were not present to see that.

Going against the attackers was like committing a suicide, so not willing to let them engage him in taijutsu, Naruto used explosive tags to move in the fog of dust, and explosive clones that let the attacker find them. One such decoy got a masked shinobi, who did not move from his position on the ground the last time Naruto let his eyes wander there. He didn't know if the man was still alive or not. Those explosions were quite dangerous if one faced them directly. After that stunt, Naruto realized that this mission was not an exercise, that Hana might be dead, and Ebisu might not manage to defeat his opponents in time to save Sasuke and Naruto himself. He realized that he might've killed for the first time and had no time to think of such things because it wasn't over yet. Seeing the face of Mata-san, or whoever he truly was, Naruto opted to risk the last of his tags for the grand explosion that would provide enough dust and cloud for him to escape farther than before. And as he determinedly threw his last reserves out from the pouch and into the field and took strategic cover, the blond didn't want to think what the man's appearance meant in regards to Sasuke.

A sharp memory of passing a river, on the way to possibly a nonexistent town, made Naruto direct his way there as fast and as stealthily as possible, and it seemed as good an idea as any. He had no time to build a trap, had barely a moment to pull out the shuriken from his body, and he had no speed to create a sensible distance, so logically, he had to hide.

A sight of the bridge that connected the cliffs that was on the side of his vision was a partial relief, so hopeful to deceive his pursuers, Naruto ignored the bridge and moved to the edge. He kept glancing behind him, to make sure no one could follow his movements. And all too soon, he held onto the edge, climbing down the rock, about ten metres above the water. The surface of the rock was dry and he felt like he held onto the dust and earth that would crumble under his fingers. That wasn't what pushed adrenaline in his veins though; it was the last glance he made into the shadows of the trees, where the enemy was sure to emerge from. It must've been a hallucination because it was impossible that he thought he had glimpsed his own sensei, unharmed, with his bandanna and distinctive glasses still on, rushing _beside_ the enemy shinobi.

_Didn't matter though_, Naruto let go and took a deep breath in. ...There was once this prank he planned to do at the gathering and ceremony that had the Sandaime as a main guest. For this particular trick he trained for days and weeks, submerging himself under water and staying there for as long as possible. The prank, in the end, wasn't funny, at least in the opinion of people who were there, but Naruto beat his own record of staying under the surface. If over the last four years, this had not changed, then he could avoid emerging for about five and a half minutes. It wasn't much, but it _should_ be enough to fool the group of ninja. ...He hoped.

And he almost shouted as his brain registered that the water was cold, far colder than he had expected, and the stream was strong enough to take him with it without his consent. All he could do at that point, was to try and stay under the surface, let the flow control his movements and hide him from the enemy.

xxx

The moment he saw the body covered in torn clothes on the riverbank, unmoving, he had the most awful feeling of dread. He didn't even remember how he reached him, just that he was on his knees, aware of the cold water, the hard stones, and was turning the body on the back, touching, checking for damage and calling, in a whisper, because for some reason, he thought that screaming was unnecessary when shaking the person in a way that was supposed to wake them.

There it was, a pink, now closed wound on the chest, under the collarbone. Bruises everywhere. And red lines, deep slashes that were probably made by shuriken, on Naruto's arms, shins and even thighs, like he was attacked from all sides. The blood stopped flowing out, and the skin was extremely pale and cold to touch. He had river to thank for that. Itachi pulled the boy away from the edge, to the tree line, where he could properly assess his wounds, bandage them and wake the blond, at last. He breathed normally so he did not drown, but his body was exhausted and stopped fighting the strain.

"Wake up, come on, Naruto." He shook him again after taking care of the injuries the best and fastest way he could, and pressed him closer to his own body to share the warmth. He couldn't make plans and act without knowing what had happened. Just what had they gotten into? Where was Sasuke? A simple escorting mission within the Fire country should not have turned into this. So he slapped the blond's face again, harder.

"Uh, what's it...?" Naruto mumbled, barely moving his lips and shutting his eyes so tightly that his expression turned into a grimace.

"You tell me. Where is your team, who attacked you?" Itachi's stern voice must've brought the blond back from wherever his consciousness was because his eyes opened wide and his breathing became laboured, even his cheeks started gaining their colour back.

"Our clients! It was a trap! And Hana got injured, and then there were these Stone ninjas! We separated and... and... I don't know what's with the rest... Those ninjas seemed to be after me."

The teen frowned and stood up. "Can you walk?"

The blond nodded and still looked like he was in shock with all that was happening.

"We'll go to the last place you saw your teammates and see where to go from there. There must be a back up team moving in the same direction, so Sasuke and the rest might already be safe." He helped Naruto stand and started walking by the riverbank, against the flow. He had clearly expected the blond to follow, but Naruto made only one step further before he stopped with a puzzled and suspicious expression.

"Itachi, what are _you_ doing here?" The teen stopped without turning back, clearly unsure of how to answer quickly and wittingly enough. "How did you find me? For all I know you could be an enemy wrapped in genjutsu, and are leading me to a trap."

As Itachi turned his face to him, he was actually angry. "There's no trap. No illusion. And no time for going into details about how I got here."

"Or maybe you're in the league with them. Like Ebisu-sensei? Have you prepared all this," Naruto gestured around and between them "circus, or did it _not go_ according to plan?"

Then an angry expression seemed to slide off Itachi's face before he marched to the blond, grabbed his shoulders forcefully, ignoring the hiss of pain from the blond. "What did you just say? Ebisu betrayed you?"

Naruto blinked and frowned at the expression he saw on Itachi's face. The teen was too emotional for him to believe it was the same Itachi he knew. But, "That's not the reaction I expected."

In the pause that formed, Itachi let go of Naruto and stared at the blond's suspicious gaze contemplatively. "You will not trust me until I make you believe me."

"Correct." The boy mumbled and made a heavy step back to at least somewhat increase the distance between them. Itachi noted it, following the boy's feet with his pointed stare.

The teen raised a brow, and then nodded, agreeing with the line of thought. "All of it has a good explanation, but I need you to promise that you will accept it without wasting time with arguments and contemplations.

A tilt of the head and another suspicious gaze later, Naruto nodded to show he had agreed. Itachi though, narrowed his eyes just the way he always did when you did not follow his instructions. "Fine, I promise to accept your speech without wasting time. Get on with it!"

Itachi did not move but a shadow fell over his eyes and his lips formed a thin line. "Sandaime did not want to let Uchiha clan adopt you, Naruto. He was afraid you'd be hurt and used. To ensure your safety he made a condition the clan agreed to." Here Itachi made a pause to pin the blond with a hard, meaningful stare. The he pulled the collar of his shirt harshly, tearing it in the process. "You see, if you're seriously hurt, then I am hurt too. And if you die, then I die as well. It's simple. And it doesn't work the other way around." The first wound Naruto received was in the same place where Itachi now had a dark purple bruise; was there any internal bleeding? He looked at his own chest, where the wound was almost completely healed, at the one that Itachi had, again, to compare, or maybe find something that could explain the phenomenon. He expected to hear many different, unbelievable things, but this wouldn't have ever come to his mind as a possibility.

Seeing Itachi's serious, intense expression though, he had no other option but believe that the story was true.

He couldn't respond, as he was hit with the bitterness of the meaning behind those words. Itachi's life depended on his, and he didn't look like he was happy with it. "But wait, it doesn't explain why..."

"You got hurt, I felt it, focused on your position, sent a clone to inform the Hokage about the trouble your team probably landed in, travelled here as fast as I could, found you, checked on you, woke you up. Now close that gaping mouth of yours and move. We still might be the first to find your teammates and there's an enemy to consider." With that said, and a stoic dignity that added flourish to Itachi's movements, the teen turned around and started walking again. This time with the blond following and trying to keep his mouth shut, but Naruto was unable to stop the flow of thoughts, conclusions and other things that _threatened_ to escape past his lips.

"It still sounds like a load of bullshit. Sandaime-Jiji wouldn't agree to something like that, and you say he came up with it?" He exclaimed after a pause.

"No arguing, no thinking." Itachi reminded sternly about the promise through gritted teeth. "You said that Ebisu was with them..."

"I'm not sure, it could be my imagination!" the blond interrupted.

Itachi sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes. "_Did_ you, or _did you not_, see the person _resembling_ your jounin captain Ebisu '_in league'_ with the enemy group?" He asked and quickened the pace.

"Uh, when you put it that way, then yeah, I did."

xxx

Having Itachi's palm covering his mouth because he had made an unnecessary gasp of surprise, wasn't comfortable. Not that he could blame the teen for being cautious. It was getting darker, and although it helped them stay in shadows, it was also harder to sight the enemy. And they still haven't found his teammates. Rather, they almost stumbled onto the Iwa shinobi that searched the area for Naruto. And acting quickly, Itachi put up a genjutsu to conceal their position, watching the enemy silently, all the time.

Naruto had to beat down the urge to grab and hurt those ninjas, because he had agreed that Itachi's approach and attitude was better. Attacking now without plan was like revealing he was alive, wasn't alone and was like handing over their lives on a platter.

And then one of them landed on the closest branch.

His heart couldn't beat any faster than it did at that moment, and Itachi probably felt it quite well, as he was clutching him to his chest so that they took as little space as possible, in case someone chose their branch to land on. Naruto didn't know why in moments like this he had this urge to say something, to comment. It must be a reaction to stress of sorts, and he was glad that the teen kept his hand pressed firmly on the traitorous mouth. Concealed by genjutsu or not, these shinobi could detect that something was wrong and Itachi needed to completely focus at that moment; Naruto didn't dare move a muscle.

Silently, carefully and painfully slowly, the teen lifted Naruto's body just centimetres off the branch and moved closer to the trunk of the tree.

And then Ebisu showed himself.

"You said that it would take no more than half an hour to crush the boy." A stone ninja said from beside the Konoha jounin.

"It's all because we did not act according to plan! The best shot was using the element of surprise, and it's wasted." Ebisu spoke with frustration, while adjusting his glasses and bandanna.

The other ninja sighed. "We still have time. Let us separate and continue the search." Others nodded in agreement.

Naruto counted four enemy shinobi, excluding Ebisu himself. None of them had features resembling their clients, and making his mind work over all the information he had, the blond came up with conclusion that there were previously six, Ebisu the traitor himself, a pair that played the roles of civilians hiring Konoha team, and the masked trio that joined the attack as the last party. And now there were Ebisu the traitor, and four masked nins, which meant that Taka and Mata discarded the henge or whatever illusion they used, and one of the previously masked shinobi was either dead or seriously injured, the one who fell for the exploding clone-trap. ...Whoever fought the Konoha jounin, simply pretended because Ebisu was completely unharmed.

The traitor and other masked shinobi leaped in the air and left, while one of the other two spoke, folding his arms.

"He may have tricks up his sleeves, but it shouldn't be this hard to catch one genin brat." He didn't sound entirely sure and confident; rather he sounded frustrated, but tried to lift the spirits.

"You forget whose brat you speak of." The other replied in harsh tone. Some tension formed between them and Naruto was sure that they'd have an argument then and there, but the first one fell off the branch with a hand reaching up to his neck, and the other gurgled and thrashed. Itachi was standing behind him, tugging the thin, glinting wire to suffocate the man. For a moment, Naruto was disoriented, because Itachi was still with him, real and alive, but then he realized that one of them had to be a clone.

With one last stifled cry the enemy slumped and Itachi somewhat gently brought the body on the ground. Naruto looked down to see the first one with a kunai firmly inserted in the neck from the side, a steady stream of blood was coming from the edges of the wound. Both were clearly dead, killed swiftly and quietly. It was a miracle that he didn't throw up there and then, with his head spinning as it did.

It was two minutes later, when Itachi was sure that the bodies were concealed and the living enemy was a good distance away, that the teen behind him sighed and relaxed his grip on the blond.

Naruto took a deep breath as his mouth was finally released and felt the tension in their bodies leave. "That was too close for comfort." He whispered and glanced at the teen behind him, who leaned on the trunk while his half lidded eyes hid the turning wheels of his mind, as Itachi analyzed all that he heard, all that he's seen and done. Naruto noted that he looked very serious like that, and it made him seem older than he was. The thought that Naruto himself could be partly blamed for that made him cringe.

xxx

He wasn't sure if standing face to face with a man he no longer trusted was a good idea.

In the falling darkness of the night.

With little assurance that he'd walk away unharmed.

And he was hoping that it wasn't all written in his expression, because he had to look like a genin that was running away from the group that wanted to kill him, a genin that found his sensei and placed all his hope, relief and trust in his instructor. The part where he played the concerned teammate wasn't hard, at least.

"Ebisu-sensei, finally!" He exclaimed while walking out of the bushes, in a hoarse voice, making a show of stumbling in exhaustion.

The man opened his mouth in surprise and turned to him, then helped him stand properly and kept his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Naruto! You're alright? Did you try to go back to our position?"

"Yeah, but I've been walking in circles trying to find you, Sasuke and Hana. You're the first I found and I can't believe my luck!"

"Good, me too." The man said and smiled. Naruto couldn't accept that sincere, open smile. It was so deceiving, familiar. The man had to be a good actor to pull it off. They were working together for months, and there was not a sign of hostility or dislike. Naruto thought that if someone had a grudge or hatred for him because of Kyuubi, he'd simply know. Now though, he wasn't sure that his assumption was correct, because if there were people that pretended to accept and even like him, then how many were there in Konoha? How many of those people that he knew, felt different about him and were ready to betray him and the village? The whole foundation of his beliefs was threatened, and ready to collapse.

"You see, we can't go back there together. It'd be better if I came back to my team alone." The man said and Naruto felt a prickle in his arm. He quickly glanced at the place the pain originated from and saw Ebisu retreat with a syringe in his hand. When and where did he move it out from? He didn't notice anything in the man's hands when he revealed himself.

"What did you do? What do you mean?" He asked hurriedly, and then felt a strange numbness in the limb. He shook it and rubbed it, but it didn't help.

"Just a precaution. You'll be paralyzed for several hours, enough time for me to get rid of you, of evidence and go back to the team to tell them bad news. Quite a plan, don't you think?" He said it with such a straight face that Naruto expected him to burst out laughing and admit that it was all just some sort of stupid test. But it didn't happen and he found that his legs were getting weaker, to the point where he started to sway.

"Why...? Is it... is it because of the Fox?" He asked, utterly betrayed. He had realized all of this already of course, but hearing those words from the man hurt him further and he felt like letting a tear or two loose. Or attacking the man and tearing him to pieces. He would fight the urge, without a doubt, but wasn't sure if he could stop it later.

Ebisu adjusted his glasses, how did he even see anything in this darkness? And watched Naruto fall on his knees with eyes wide opened in surprise and fear. He held onto the arm that was shot with toxin but it was an unconscious gesture.

"_I think you should face Ebisu." The teen muttered, and it made the blond _both_ wince and cringe. _

"_What for?" Naruto asked, making sure that only__ a__ whisper passed his lips and not the scream of indignation. He turned to face Itachi fully. "We should be more concerned with my teammates now."_

_In the growing darkness of the forest, the red of Itachi's sharingan shone like the source of all evil and anger. "They will be found by the tracking team, well taken care of. The enemy doesn't know that there is a back up team from Konoha, and we shall use that. I worry for Sasuke too, but I am interested to hear what the traitor has to say." His voice was levelled, controlled, but Naruto still felt like Itachi was screaming, looming over him and ordering. The contrast of what he saw and what he felt made him shiver. And then there was also the lingering question of what the ninja meant when he mentioned that Naruto was '_someone's'_ son. Like they knew who his parents were. Finding an answer to that was the only push the blond needed to agree._

"Yes and no." The man replied, folded his arms and studied Naruto. At that moment, the blond had the sudden impression that he was at the man's mercy. Here Ebisu was, towering over him as he kneeled helplessly on the ground, and had all the power to kill Naruto and walk away as if nothing happened. "Like all the people of Leaf, I want the Kyuubi gone. But it's not like I have anything against you, Naruto." Again, the jounin sounded sincere, but he would not be fooled now by that behaviour. "Quite the contrary. You're keeping the demon at bay, and it's not your fault that you were chosen as a vessel. I respect you, pity you, even like you. But I am loyal to Konoha, and Kyuubi is a danger and a threat that sooner or later we'll have to face, because you're not going to live forever, and there's no guarantee that there will be a new vessel, ready and willing, to take your place. If I kill you now, I will kill the demonic Fox as well, which is the seal aspect I find most useful."

Naruto was overwhelmed. Not only he was fully paralyzed now, slouched and unable to move, to look up to see, to speak, to react, but the man just admitted that it wasn't hatred that motivated him, but loyalty to the village. He didn't expect that.

"If you're curious, and you most probably are, those Iwa shinobi were ordered not to harm Sasuke and Hana. They should be alive and safe, never mind those minor injuries. It was quite a plan to have additional help from a country we're on bad terms with." Here the man's voice sounded satisfied, mischievous even. He shifted around, probably to check if those ninja were close or not. "They believe that I want to kill you for revenge, and for money. And that you are the son of the Yondaime Hokage, which is the perfect reason for _them_ to exact their own revenge. You see, in the time of third shinobi world war the Yondaime became quite infamous among Stone ninja, and you look like his young, pretty replica." He laughed at that, pleased with himself. "Of course, if you really were the son of Namikaze Minato then everyone would know that and kiss the ground you walk on. Sadly, it's just a believable lie. I'm afraid tonight you will be a necessary sacrifice for the safety of Hidden Leaf village. Forgive me my actions, Naruto."

He tried to make a sound, move or do anything to show that he would _not_ forgive the man. Maybe he could agree that the death of Kyuubi was a good thing for not just the village but all the other nations, but it didn't mean that he could be sacrificed without getting a word in.

From the sound of it, as Naruto could not see anything other than the grass beneath him, Ebisu unfolded his arms decisively and stepped further, seemingly done with his speech and ready to make his plan a reality.

And promptly stopped, probably by Itachi, who promised to step in if his life was in danger. The bugger didn't bother to step in when he was shot with some paralyzing liquid, but after hearing all the truth they needed, finally moved into action.

"Don't believe a word he's said." Itachi muttered.

Naruto hoped that he meant that.

xxx

They went home from the hospital in silence. Not that any of them needed medical care, but the general check-up was supposed to please the clan and the council. Hana was healed and ordered to have a week off duties, and Sasuke was already back in training session. The Sandaime revealed that Naruto's mother was Uzumaki Kushina, a fact Naruto wasn't sure what to feel about, and made many people believe that Ebisu held a personal grudge against her for one reason or another. The younger generation, Hana and Sasuke included, bought it, but some adults had their doubts.

Ebisu was interrogated and Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted to know of the man's fate. Everything was back to normal or as much as it could be, with him knowing of the connection that tied him to Itachi, or rather, that tied Itachi to his life, and team Ebisu no longer having a jounin.

And Itachi went back to his contemplative, a bit brooding and a bit too intelligent self. The teen walked beside him, escorting him home, and it would look like that to everyone else as well if the teen put on the chuunin vest, but thankfully, as usual, Itachi preferred simple attire consisting of black pants, a mesh shirt and black t-shirt. Bandaged calves and again, black sandals. It accented his gloomy look more than anything, and Naruto wondered if it was intended.

As they entered the district, the blond had to note that nothing had changed in Konoha, even if it seemed that it did. The last mission affected him and his teammates so much that he expected the whole world to be new, unknown, with hidden meanings and secrets. He couldn't even look at anyone without second guessing anymore. And he felt that everyone was lying to him, at first. Itachi's presence and never changing stoic attitude helped with it, as Naruto's new understanding of the teen's feelings. But he was afraid of how Sasuke wound have reacted if he found out that his older brother's life depended on the life of the other. He could blame people that were responsible for the arrangement but none of it would have happened if Naruto had not agreed to join the family. What if he died of some stupid mistake, on some simple mission, or was targeted specifically to kill the heir of the clan?

Itachi stopped for a moment on their way to Naruto's house and turned in the direction of the main house. "Your guardians are there." He added, to explain the change of route. Some girl that passed them flirted with the teen with her gaze, flapping of eyelashes and subtle change of pose. It did not work, of course, and Naruto covered his mouth to stifle a snigger. Itachi glanced at him from the corner of the eye and just a bit of the muscle by the left side of his mouth and right side of his eye twitched, revealing his annoyance. It drove Naruto to a new level of amusement and he coughed to mask the laugh that escaped.

He managed to have control of his self back by the time they were near the house, and was surprised to hear the shouting that was coming from within, Itachi heard it as well and they stopped the advance, not really sure what to do.

"...I knew that it was bad idea and told you not to take the risk, but you didn't listen to me! After that attack God knows how many others will come, and Itachi has to suffer for that? He's our son! You condemned, sentenced his life with that one and for what?"

That sounded like Mikoto-san, Itachi's mother. The sounds were coming from behind the walls, even though the windows were closed; they couldn't see what was happening inside, though they could hear that the argument was about them.

"He's strong willed, and we'll train the boy to be strong enough to protect himself. I knew what was at stake; don't look at me like I don't know of the cost! I did that for the good of the clan!" Was an answer that seemed to come from Fugaku-san. Naruto wasn't sure if he liked the tone the man used and the meaning behind his words. He glanced to the side and saw that Itachi was frowning, not moving but listening intently.

"That boy is a jinchuuriki, and you know that they don't live long! They either die at the hand of their creators, or by giving their life for the village that owns them! I tried to delude myself that it will be different in this instance but this assault has opened my eyes!" the woman was breathing heavily, her voice was breaking, and what she said seemed to sting something inside of Naruto. He wanted to live a long and full life. Not die the way she described, and certainly not taking someone's life with him.

"...Please," someone sobbed from inside the house. Naruto immediately recognized Uruchi-san's trembling voice. "don't blame the boy for what happened. He doesn't know, Mikoto-sama. ...He's such a sweet, hardworking child. He's like a son to us, we can't imagine what we'd do if he was hurt."

"You'd treat _any_ child like it was yours. You didn't have a child to take care of for years so it wouldn't matter which it happened to be." Mikoto spat in a barely controlled tone.

Whatever was the reply to that, Naruto didn't hear, because Itachi grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away from the house. His movements were sharp and nervous, while Naruto himself was too shaken to resist the manhandling. He wanted desperately to believe that the woman was simply affected by how close her eldest son had come to dying and did not control her emotions and words. He wanted to believe that he was adopted into the family for who he was, for love and for care, and not for the good of the clan. But most of all, he wanted to believe that his guardians loved him for being Naruto, not for being a child that landed in their care, under their roof.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that Itachi had led them to the pond and stopped by the edge on the dock. He looked distressed and a moment later, when he noticed that his hand was still holding Naruto's shoulder, he awkwardly let go. "I'm sorry that you had to hear that." He whispered and sighed.

"I'm sorry too." Naruto replied, somehow aware that he had more to apologize for than Itachi, after all, even if he was used by the family, he himself also got something in return, while the teen had his life turned upside down.

Itachi made a quiet sigh again and sat on the ground, leaning his head on right knee and folding his arms around it as well. Naruto watched him and the way he looked almost tired of all that fell on his shoulders. Fugaku-san was right, Itachi _was_ strong, but his own family didn't help him to keep it that way.

"I meant to ask," Naruto started, fidgeting a bit. "You beat those guys, kept them in an illusion without much effort, and organized our way back to Konoha. Why aren't you a jounin?"

A sad smile answered him first, and then the teen lifted his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? If I was sent on the missions of higher rank, the risk of me dying on duty would be greater, and in the worst case scenario, Uchiha clan would have to find someone to replace me, regarding the contract made by the Sandaime." Words easily slipped out of him, and softly. He sounded like he had come to terms with every possible outcome. "Who do you think is the next candidate?" Itachi asked, directing his knowing gaze at the water.

The blond rummaged his mind for possibilities and the most prominent one wasn't easing his conscience. Of course it wound be Sasuke.

They were brothers, they were teammates and friends. They lived together and trained together, went on the same missions. Unlike Itachi, Sasuke was still a genin and not strong enough to protect Naruto, but also unlike Itachi, he was always closer. It was logical, and painfully evident.

"Right..." He muttered, and sat down as well. "What do we do?" Somehow in the light of this new knowledge, the conversation they heard moments ago wasn't as relevant.

"For now? Nothing." The teen replied, implying that there might be an action they took in regards to that later. This also eased Naruto's worry. He thought that he could learn to trust Itachi with things that were beyond his understanding, skills and reach. Depending on someone else wasn't a bad feeling either, he noted.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part three**

Flashback

"_You said that it was a contract, but I don't remember agreeing to one, or signing anything of the kind." Naruto scowled, obviously trying to remember the occurrence but being unable to._

"_You've agreed to adoption. Surely there was something mentioning Sarutobi-sama as your... authorized guardian." Itachi replied. The blond looked at him dubiously, and then pulled at his hair thoughtfully. _

"_Alright, there was a word or two...And this connection, how does it work? I assumed it must be something really advanced; a jutsu connecting two people's lives, you know, it must be _something_."_

_The teen nodded. "A combination of fuuin and iryo jutsu. Your physical state is mirrored in mine. There are small seal marks on our backs, now hidden by genjutsu that were placed by the Sandaime."_

"_And I don't remember of such event because...?" A suspicious gaze was directed Itachi's way, and the teen raised an elegant brow. _

"_You were unconscious?" Itachi supplied. _

_End of flashback_

* * *

Three years later

"Team Kakashi reporting back from the mission." The jounin with his eyes glued to the book in his hand announced as he stopped by the pair of chuunin that guarded the gates of Konoha.

Behind the jounin a trio of ninja appeared, bickering about a jutsu or something, while back and forth, a trio of medium sized dogs ran and danced by the feet of team members.

"Mission accomplished?" Kotetsu asked, suddenly waking up from his slumber of boredom. "Anything exciting happening?" The second question he directed to the blond, who glared at his brother in the peak of their argument.

"Yeah, kicked several nameless asses, nothing much memorable, but it was funny." Naruto informed the gatekeeper still not moving his heated glare away from his brother's responsive one.

Kakashi started walking into the village without a backward glance. "Disclosing information is a crime, Naruto." He muttered, and expected his team to follow.

"I was vague!"

Hana, who was attempting to control the tic that developed over the last few years on her temple, firmly grabbed the back collars of her teammates and dragged them behind her, going right after their sensei. 'Insufferable brats.' She kept muttering, even hissing under her breath.

It was clear that both Sasuke and Hana were chuunin. Their green vests showed it to everyone. Sasuke wore the official, usual chuunin attire, while Hana went for dark grey shorts, black sandals, and the vest that was tighter and more form fitting than the classic one.

And even though Naruto was a chuunin too, he completely discarded, despised uniforms and wore black pants with dark orange bandages tying his calves, black sandals, orange shirt and black vest with a hood. No matter how hard anyone tried to convince him that orange wasn't a ninja colour, the blond continued to clad himself in clothing that had at least a bit of orange detail.

"We'll give a report and go home. Stop making a fuss, children." The perverted man chastised his students.

Hearing that they were referred to as 'kids', Uchiha brothers got red in their faces and took positions on either side of their female teammate. With noses high in the air, the boys pretended that nothing embarrassing had occurred.

Kakashi led his team straight to the Hokage building and into the room for giving report, half listening to the kids whining about the lunch they missed and dinner they'd like to make plans for. The calm noon in Konoha led the jounin to believe that they would be debriefed without line.

"Team Kakashi, come in, come in!" The Hokage motioned for the team to enter, with a wide warm smile. The jounin went to the desk and gave the mission scroll to the Leader, then made several steps back to stand with his team.

"Track and Assault team is reporting back from the mission, Hokage-sama." Hatake added, for formality, and finally hid his book in the pouch.

The old man opened the scroll and checked the contents. "Yes, your assignment was to find the killer of Miss Noroi and bring him, her, or... them to her father." The old man clarified, puffed his ever present pipe and directed his gaze at the team.

The jounin nodded and moved his hands behind his back. "We investigated the case and found a serial rapist that travelled around the Fire country; his travels are the reason he wasn't identified and caught yet. We followed his scent to his next destination and used a decoy to lead him into a trap."

Grey brows furrowed, and the Hokage glanced at the female member of the team.

All four members of team Kakashi blushed and sweat dropped'. "She was too scared, too nervous and too unreliable to take that role." Sasuke accused through gritted teeth. Hana became even redder and her lips trembled in distress.

"And you absolutely refused to pose as bait, though of all of us, you had the best emotional control." Naruto said to his brother, turning grim.

"Naruto had to use his invented... Orioke no jutsu to become the best snare for our target." Kakashi informed their Leader, who switched his stare from one team member to another. After the last statement, even the jounin flushed and lowered his eyes in shame.

Sarutobi sighed. "Alright, how did the mission proceed from there?"

The jounin cringed. "Well, we tracked the target and found that he had a cousin that knew of what our target did to victims and also gave him a place to stay; we marked him as our target too. Naruto lured the first target into the trap, making a false date, while Sasuke kept an eye on the second target. And, long story short, after a spectacular performance, Naruto, with the help of Hana who tried hard to prove she wasn't useless, got the serial rapist and killer captured, while Sasuke and I simply knocked the man's cousin off. Our employer was happy to deal with the pair himself, after we thoroughly expressed our feelings toward lady killers and rapists to the pair..." Kakashi trailed off. At this point the grey brows of the Hokage were somewhere up in the hairline, expressing his attention.

"You didn't need to be so ridiculously honest, sensei." Sasuke muttered in the silence that formed and folded his arms.

"Felt like it." The jounin eye smiled.

The blond and the female glared at Kakashi , folding their arms too, not in the protective gesture, but rather trying to keep their hands from harming the teacher.

xxx

..It wasn't a celebration where relatives and guests were called to attend. Even though it was a change and an awaited one, the main family preferred to make it quiet. And it surprised Itachi, who was used to his life being placed on the platter, for all to see.

It was evening, and their family gathered around the table. The young man observed as his younger brother fidgeted in his position on the cushion, resettled and then looked around for another cushion in a very bold way. It was what Itachi loved about him the most, this unwillingness to be a stiff person, made of stone like most of the members. In many ways, it was Naruto who helped cultivate that sort of behaviour. Though thankfully, after years of being submitted to the extravagations of the blond and his spreading madness, Sasuke still knew the limits, boundaries and had manners.

Fugaku was in a pleased mood; even the lines on his face became softer, noticeably. Mikoto was smiling, her hands were placed on her lap, but unlike her usual submissive gesture, this one was loose and calm. Sasuke though, looked bored. There _was_ this gleam of knowledge in his eye, which was accented by an occasional, pointed stare, but Itachi could not interpret it.

"We should have sat at this table for this special occasion, three, even four years ago." The older man spoke and looked at each of the faces of his closest family. "There are circumstances, things that go out of our control, sometimes. Still, this day finally came, and I congratulate you, son, on your promotion to jounin. You were requested for missions above your rank, joined teams with far greater experience, and to me, you proved you deserve this position before anyone started to discuss it. And I want you to know, that I'm proud of you."

There was a rare warmth in the man's voice Itachi wasn't sure how to react to. Being an official jounin was different of course, because he had access to other missions, files, duties and could even become a teacher, if he wished to. Part of it was in his reach when he was still a chuunin, as the shinobi population knew of his skills. Official rank though, made things easier. The young man looked up and gave a slight smile. He did not really care about the man's acknowledgement of him. Even Sasuke's proud grin, a hidden 'thumb up' hidden under the table, meant much more. And mother, well, if she was happy then he was glad that he could contribute to that. Though he doubted that she cared much about whether or not he had a higher rank. She'd rather worry about risky missions and his absence in case those were long termed.

"There is also another thing I would like to announce." The older man said and took a sip of sake. "You're eighteen years old now, young man, and it's time to start looking for a woman you'd spent the rest of your life with. We had no small amount of offers, negotiations and debates with representatives of several clans. And there is a candidate that might interest you." Expectantly, Fugaku looked up at Itachi to judge his reaction, but as most of the time, was met with impenetrable, emotionless wall.

If there was anything Itachi hated more than hopelessness, it was someone controlling all the simple aspects of his life.

He didn't have a choice in whether he became a ninja or not, he was just faced with training sessions and expectations of the family. No one asked if he wanted to kill, he was ordered to. Spying on his clan? It wasn't like he _wanted_ to, but between the death of many people and preventing the tragedy from happening, what kind of choice did a sane person have? He was already tied to one person, had accepted it finally, and his father just goes and arranges a marriage. Was there a chance of anything happening out of his own choice and idea, ever?

Well, it's not like he didn't know of the man's actions either, but Fugaku could have waited with making the choice and announcement. The man should've also asked for Itachi's opinion of things. 'Are you ready to think about the future, son? Maybe you'd like to start your own family?' for example.

"Recently, a new clan joined our country, and our village." The older man started explaining, for a moment ignoring Itachi's expression. " for generations Fuuma clan was a family of ninja in Rice country, that lost its standing due to the consequences of war, like many others. Instead of joining the Sound village that formed in their country, though, this part of family travelled here. They joined our ranks and marrying into Konoha clans will make the connection to our village even stronger. Besides, they have no bloodline that could interfere with the kekkai genkai of Uchiha, and no power to hold over us, rather the opposite of it. "

Inwardly the young man scowled. Of course it would be a clan weaker than them. Whichever girl was used for marriage was already treated like fresh blood for Uchiha, and a bargain in dealings with the family that would serve the stronger clan in every possible way.

"Is there a planned date for a meeting?" Itachi asked, his voice levelled.

Mikoto clapped her hands softly, happily, and smiled widely at her eldest son, probably thinking that he was very interested and excited at the prospect of meeting a possible fiancée. "As a matter of fact, there is! The day after tomorrow, and I prepared a traditional kimono for you to wear, with a small kamon, as you always prefer, dear." Then she went on describing the attire for Sasuke and Fugaku, and then dishes she planned to make. Through it all, Itachi and Fugaku kept their faces full of patience, while Sasuke rolled his eyes at their mother's speech. She was in her element so they did not interrupt her, but laughing and grimacing in her presence at such times was unwise. The youngest Uchiha heir did all in his power though, to bring forth the feared Fugaku's scowl. And it made keeping his face straight while watching all that much harder, Itachi admitted.

Finally, his young brother gave him a glare that said it was Itachi's fault for asking the tricky question and all the young man could do was roll his eyes as well, in response. The dinner promised to be long...

* * *

The next day

Hearing that Itachi made jounin, at last, Naruto didn't know other way to congratulate him than to bring sweets and hug the young man till Itachi turned red in embarrassment. It was doubtful that he'd agree to celebrate by making a party, and if Naruto organized the party himself, the eldest Uchiha heir would never forgive him... unless Itachi repaid in some- prank or humiliating way. That wasn't something the blond looked forward to, so he decided to visit the raven haired jounin with a bag of dango.

As he walked through the door, made a speech and handed the sweets, Naruto was rewarded with a small, grateful, cute smile that made Itachi look much younger than usual. Like a little kid, he grabbed the gift and without a word went to the kitchen to make tea.

It was an odd hour it seemed, because Mikoto was visiting a friend for gossiping, Fugaku always had one business to take care of or another, and Sasuke was doing some private, secret training at the moment. It was the younger Uchiha that informed Naruto of Itachi's promotion, an hour ago or so, before shoving the blond out of training grounds.

The main house was strangely quiet, and with his friend being so silent, Naruto, who sat at the small kitchen table, started to worry. It wasn't like Itachi was talkative, no, he rarely engaged in debates and long conversations, but a kind of gloomy aura surrounded him that day, and Naruto wasn't sure what was the source of it. He almost opened his mouth to speak and ask creepy questions, but Itachi returned with the tea- most probably made with secret express technique- and joined him by gracefully sitting down. The blond noted that Itachi's pants were a part of pyjamas set, black and slightly loose, and for a change, he wore a white tee shirt. Comments and questions he prepared left his tongue though, because Itachi looked truly happy and pleased as he ate dango off the paper plate. His dark eyes sparkled, merry, and the blond expected him to start humming or singing at any moment from now. Disrupting that moment of contentment was like committing a sin.

"That was very thoughtful of you." The young man said between bites, and was too immersed in the treat to see Naruto leaning on the table with both of his arms, head resting on the top of his hands with a wide toothy grin directed at no one in particular. Blue eyes were gazing up, pleased at the gratefulness Itachi expressed.

The boy grabbed one stick and smiled mischievously at his friend when Itachi mock glared at the daring move.

"So, will you tell me what's bugging you?" Naruto asked, without testing the waters and beating around the bush. The jounin looked up puzzled. "Don't pretend to be confused, there's a dark cloud over your head, heavy and ominous."

Sighing, Itachi grimaced a bit and sipped his tea. Naruto mirrored him, lifting his own cup, but did not avert his eyes from the silent Uchiha. He knew that it was his fault Itachi became a jounin now, at the age of eighteen, and not years before, when he proved to have a skill and a mind of one. The council waited until Naruto became a chuunin, and until Itachi surpassed the level of jounin, for the safety of the both of them. Naruto blamed himself for the injustice but did not voice that thought, as it wouldn't change anything but remind them of it.

"I thought that Sasuke had already informed you." The answer came, and the blond chewed contemplatively as he thought back on his brief encounter with a brother that morning.

"Hmm, well, there was this strange, indecipherable, unnamed expression on his face for a moment, but he didn't reveal anything to me other than your promotion."

Itachi smiled and looked down at the table. "He's young; he doesn't understand it yet, and doesn't treat it seriously enough."

"Doesn't understand, treat seriously, _what_ exactly?" The boy prompted, intrigued. He leaned forward, impatiently awaiting the answer.

Ebony eyes looked up at the eager blond warmly. "I'll be married soon."

Naruto blinked, expecting something else.

Itachi tilted his head slightly, knowing that he shocked his friend, but also knowing that sooner or later, there'd be a reaction of some kind, most probably amusing.

"Married? To whom?" The boy asked dubiously. He didn't wait for a reply before continuing. "You don't even have a girlfriend! I'd know if you had one! Who is it?"

Calmly, dejectedly, the jounin shrugged.

"You don't know? You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto threw his arms in the air in indignation.

"I'll meet the most possible candidate, tomorrow." With the same indestructible calmness, Itachi replied.

The blond blinked again, without comprehending.

"It's different in big families, in clans, where heirs have reputation, future, name. Where politics have more weight." Itachi started explaining. "There are negotiations, bargains and meetings made between families. I'll be given a bride. And I'll have to marry her because I'm eighteen now, and have to continue the Uchiha line, so to speak."

"But, but what about love?" Naruto asked, his eyes impossibly widened. "Shouldn't marriage be out of love? How are you going to live with someone you don't even know?"

The jounin actually laughed at that, slightly, quietly, sadly, as if he saw naivety in its true form and just now understood it. That didn't suit him, made him seem all that more bitter and resigned. Whatever happiness he radiated with minutes ago was gone. "People marry through contracts, deals and arrangements all the time, Naruto. How do they live? They accept their spouse, learn to appreciate some things about them, and ignore some others. It's not about love, but power, blood, politics, and influence. Money."

Naruto slumped in his chair.

He certainly didn't expect it. Marriage because one was of age? Just like that? No girlfriend, no dates, no getting to know them before you say 'yes'? And clans lived by these rules. Itachi though, certainly didn't deserve it. It was obvious he didn't want it.

Being an heir to the clan seemed to be unpleasant business, at times...

The blond picked up the cup of cold tea and gulped, maybe to get rid of almost present bile in his throat. "What are you going to do?" He glanced at Itachi, who inspected another stick of sweets with delight. A shrug later that was the answer, he chewed with eyes closed, back in the world of sugar.

"You're just going to accept it?" The boy stared incredibly.

"Yes." A controlled grimace said otherwise, though.

xxx

Kakashi saw the dynamics of team Ebisu the moment it was transferred to him. Uh, he didn't believe it was coincidence that he was chosen as their sensei. Despite him never having a team of genin, he suited that position more than anyone. Hana had three dog partners, and he had his ninken, Sasuke had Sharingan, and he had one too, and Naruto was the powerhouse with potential to use every and the most dangerous ninjutsu, and here he was, Kakashi, who knew over a thousand of those. It's not like someone had suggested Kakashi as a teacher for the team that had their jounin betray them, after the investigation he led on that case. And it's not like it wasn't obvious that this team would become the best for tracking, pursuing and assault. Just what Kakashi himself specialized in. Sandaime forced him to face the facts. And he couldn't refuse either. After the whole scandal of Iwa believing Naruto to be the son of the Fourth despite Konoha claiming it was a lie and a misunderstanding, and the revelation that Ebisu had a support of one of the wealthiest people in Fire country, Kakashi felt it was his _responsibility_ to keep the genin safe. He felt that if he didn't accept the proposition, they'd be attacked again. And they needed training and competent sensei to teach them to survive. Even Uchiha clan accepted his position, without any fuss. Surprising, but not unpleasant.

Where was he? Yes, dynamics. Hana believed that she was the leader, since she was older and felt that she was responsible. Most of the time though, her tactics and plans changed when Sasuke and Naruto suggested ideas and methods that she could not refuse to accept. It irked her, sure, but she was capable of seeing flaws in her logic, and it was a trait he helped develop in her, which made him proud of the accomplishment itself. Sasuke was the observer. He analyzed events and surroundings, commented at the appropriate time, and most importantly, stopped his teammates from doing stupid things. His flaws though, lied in self critique. For some reason he believed that his brother was better when it came to the use of ninjutsu and stealth. Well, it was true, if one looked at this from one point of view, where Naruto had so much chakra that even the innocent technique became deadly, and skill to stay in shadows that could not be natural. If Kakashi had to make a guess, he'd say that it came from being the host of the Fox. From the other point of view, though, Naruto wasn't as fast as Sasuke, and didn't know as many techniques. He did not have the sharingan that could let him predict enemy's moves.

Looking at his dark haired, sweating student, the jounin remembered also that Naruto always had more endurance.

Sasuke believed himself to be inferior, and therefore, he trained in private, on his free day, away from the rest of the team. Roots of this behaviour were in his early childhood, when he was in shadow of his older brother. Kakashi could not fix it, so he went along with it. After all, the boy would be stronger.

"I don't like to be spied on, Kakashi-sensei." The boy announced, turning around from inspecting the damaged trees. For the last hour he tried to use some wind related jutsu, but as it wrought more chaos than direct harm, the man knew it was not mastered yet.

"I'm just making sure you don't injure yourself. ...Fuuton, Sasuke? Adding something new to your offensive arsenal?"

The boy smirked knowingly and drank water from the canteen he brought with himself in case he became thirsty. Deliberately, Sasuke made slow gulps, to make the man wait longer for his answer. It was often a sweet revenge on chuunin part for making the team wait on Kakashi for hours at times, when they had no immediate mission to attend to.

The jounin rolled his eyes, seeing through Sasuke's tactic. That's right, Naruto was _also_ always better when it came to executing revenge.

"Recently I gained access to archives of Uchiha clan that were too confidential and dangerous for me to get hands on before. I found interesting notes made by members of clan that died quite long ago, notes on techniques they saw with the doujutsu and could not use for one reason or another. The one I try to master now is not something I'd ever be able to use, as it takes a powerful wind user, with large magnitude of chakra to learn and to control."

Kakashi made an 'oh' of realization and tilted his head. "So, this..."

"Yeah. It will be a gift, for Naruto of course." The boy confirmed a bit sheepishly.

They really treated each other like brothers. The jounin couldn't count how many times they considered feelings of the other, surprised with caring actions. There were families out there, of blood, that did not treat each other that way. And here two boys were, not related, not growing up together from the day of birth, and if one didn't see colours, you'd claim they had a bond of true siblings.

"Was there anything else interesting, in those archives?" the man asked.

Sasuke grinned evilly, with sparks of joy in his eyes.

"Thought so." Hatake suspected as much. Team Kakashi would soon start a training session, courtesy of one young Uchiha, and he couldn't wait to see the dynamics start their work.

* * *

_The next day, evening_

The biggest hall was organized and furnished to contain a crowd of people. Discussions between elders were made, and Itachi already met a possible bride. She wasn't ugly, but wasn't beautiful either. Just a girl that believed he'd fall for her looks, seducing manners, and what not. He quickly admitted, subtly and in between the lines, that she was chosen by his parents and elders, without his consent and interest. Then he made his way through the crowd and found an empty couch. Itachi hoped that his intimidating image would shy people away from his person, which would give him some needed air to breathe.

All around, the guests came and went between groups, gossiped, gave him glances. Snacks and drinks were on small tables, by couches, chairs and even cushions, prepared for everyone. Looking at the event he wanted to roll his eyes at the robes some guests chose for this occasion and things they made up and spoke of, without knowing any details of the situation.

From his position, Itachi also saw Sasuke conversing with some girl that had long orange hair and glinting hearts in her eyes, clearly a sign that she fell in love on first sight. And his little brother was barely holding off the grimace, seeing the effect he had on the poor girl. In her hurry to persuade the young Uchiha that she was worth his attention, she lost all grace required for her dress. That kimono had subtle, thin flowers that suggested finesse and in contrast, this girl was too lively, too sharp in her movements, too young to seem beautiful or simply attention gathering.

Suddenly, someone jumped on the couch beside him, taking a seat sharply and brusquely. Heart beating too loudly, too quick to decide if he was irritated, offended, disappointed or angry, Itachi directed his efforts into keeping his face as emotionless as a moment ago, and just as intimidating.

"Huff, fuck and dammit, you won't believe what I've got to say." The newcomer muttered under his breath.

_It's just Naruto. _

Quite as suddenly, tension left Itachi's body, even if it wasn't seen in his simple, black and grey kimono. "Where were you?" He asked, hiding an accusing note that threatened to be heard in his tone. The blond was supposed to use all methods of war, fair and unfair, to keep all guests away from his personal bubble. His emotional state was unstable because of the whole affair which is a reasoning enough.

Naruto did not pretend to have grace, perfection, and charm, his crumpled appearance showed it well. His breathing was laboured though, and his blue, piercing eyes danced wildly over the room, searching. Itachi casually and delicately straightened some folds and wrinkles that were in his reach, hoping to fix Naruto's look a bit, before he was seen by someone of high standing. The blond had an identical simple attire, with the difference that beside the Uchiha fan on his back was also a typical red swirl. Itachi glanced down and saw that his friend's white socks and white zori gained a grey and brown tint, probably because he had ran somewhere in this kimono. _Must've been urgent_. But to show up like this? Only Naruto would dare.

"I came right on time, but the moment I saw them I had to walk out and confirm something. This is the Fuuma clan, and your 'bride' is not someone I suggest accepting." The blond turned to Itachi, leaned closer and whispered. "She's crazy, all of them are. Not that all _other_ ninja aren't but this family is something special. I've met that bunch before."

Someone got close to the couch with a friendly smile and a drink in their hand, probably to say 'congratulations, that girl would become a perfect wife', but Itachi looked up with his best, scary, source of all evil and anger glare. That person quickly lost their smile, good mood and any intention of coming close ever again. Hastily retreated, too.

"There's no guarantee that next option they find would be better. Most of the time, second options are worse, and I will have less of influence over that choice." Uchiha heir spoke quietly, directing his gaze ahead of him.

"She's insane." Naruto insisted with a hiss. He knew that the clan had a story asking for pity, where they were fooled by Orochimaru who promised them fame and glory, where they had two most skilled members sacrificing themselves to free the rest of family, and abandoned their country to start anew. "Ask Sasuke, I think he remembers that mission of finding Orochimaru's lair quite well."

"Sasuke expressed his opinion quite _clearly_, when he _paled_ at the sight of _Kotohime_." Itachi replied and went back to staring ahead of him into nowhere. A minute later from the corner of his eye he saw the twitch that started in the blond's eye.

"...And?" Naruto prompted, when Itachi did not continue. Someone passed them with a questioning stare, and both gave their paramount heated glares in response.

"And what?" The jounin threw the question back, still not looking at the blond directly.

"What are you going to do? Don't tell me you're just going to sit here, ignore the situation until it brings you to the wedding, and then you'll simply let that bitch be your wife? Are you too lazy to deal with it, too scared or too uncaring?" The speech came in one breath, harsh whisper that was directed right in Itachi's ear.

One blink and an elegant raise of a dark brow later, the jounin finally, slowly turned to his companion. "The answer to all of your questions, is yes. "

A silent pause was filled with voices of conversing guests that surrounded them, but the pair continued to stare and glare at each other, finding themselves in an argument.

"You're destroying your life." Naruto stated firmly. Their faces were so close he could see the reflection of the room in the young man's dark, almost black eyes that narrowed.

"It's _my_ life." The young man answered just as firmly and turned his face away.

Annoyed and frustrated, Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, leaned back on the couch and started brooding.

Why didn't Itachi fight against his family? Did he not care that this girl was insane enough to kill him if the clan accepted her? Not that killing Itachi was easy, as he was quite beyond the whole Fuuma clan in skill. But for mental health, he should have said no. Or come up with a plan to change his parents' mind. He could find someone who'd pretend to be his girlfriend, and claim he was in love and would not betray her. That way, Fugaku and Mikoto would've thought twice before forcing him into marriage. Then again, they might force him to marry the girl that pretended. And it's not like there was anyone the jounin paid more attention to, to make a right choice. Naruto could not come up with a memory of Itachi dating anyone. Ever.

"Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, let me make an announcement." Fugaku's voice resounded in the hall and crowds of people.

Naruto watched his friend sigh, close and reopen his eyes to gather all wits and stand.

He didn't want Itachi to sacrifice his happiness like that. So what if others married through arrangement all the time? Itachi didn't deserve it.

People gathered around the clan head, listening to his speech. The Fuuma members stood the closest and especially that witch with long, dark, dangerous hair and eyes that sometimes glinted red with madness. And it was no doujutsu. Of all of her clan members, her kimono was the most beautiful and expensive. Still the blond did not believe it would have made a difference about his or Itachi's opinion of the girl. Hanzaki was beside her, encircling her shoulders with his arm in a proud, protective manner. Itachi gracefully walked to them, not betraying his emotions, and unable to stop himself, Naruto followed him close by, in disbelief.

All around them people smiled. It clashed with foul mood the blond radiated, and he fought the scowl that pleaded to form on his features. All these guests did not know of Fuuma clan that well, and did not really care about Itachi or his candidate for fiancée. They saw this party and assumed that the clan heir was lucky, assumed that Kotohime had high chances of stealing and keeping his heart. In reality though, Itachi wanted to be free, and the Fuuma family wanted power, respect and money. Just as Itachi recently explained.

Fugaku started describing the history of the Fuuma clan by telling a tale, which was nicer than the real story. The crowd cooed and aww'ed, swallowing the speech.

Itachi was stoic, more so than ever.

_Do something, your friend is about to give up his life_. The voice inside Naruto's head whispered urgently. He knew that Itachi wasn't a child and was capable of making his own choices and decisions, but he also knew him well enough to understand that the young man simply did not care. He was used to doing what was expected of him his whole life. Yes, he let himself be free sometimes, let himself make small choices, small lies here and there, secrets. But never about such an official, public, important family matter.

It's just the beginning, and it could get worse. _What if the next candidate is worse than this one, though_? What can Itachi do but go with the flow? It's not like they'll listen. Uchiha clan would always want the best deal, the most beneficial one, and doubtfully any idea someone else would have had, they'd meet enthusiastically. _Then he has to go against the flow._

Fugaku finished his speech with a soft, almost genuine smile and people around them clapped as if they were given a signal of sorts.

_If you don't step in now_... Frantically, Naruto worked his mind and his eyes widened in fear, anticipation and determination. He mouth was open, ready to speak up, to defend the young man. The claps reached their peak and the witch turned to look at Itachi, and then she seemed to make a step in his direction.

"What?" Naruto asked shockingly at the same moment she raised her foot. The blond looked around at the crowd, aware of Itachi's position on his right side, just a step further. "What do you mean?" He continued loudly and the clapping ceased as people looked at him in confusion. Naruto turned to Itachi. "_Your_ possible fiancée? You've gotta be kidding me!" His mind was in overdrive, coming up with every possible plan and solution, tactic that would lead the Uchiha clan to believe they'd better not interfere in Itachi's life in the same way as today.

From Itachi's point of view everything was as boring, as pointless as he had expected it to be. Announcement, meeting, even clapping, until the blond opened his mouth and started sprouting some nonsense. He was asking questions as if he stepped into the room _now_, after a yearlong mission, and not an hour ago.

"Why didn't you tell me anything, Itachi? Do you... do you want me to be jealous or is it your twisted version of a break up?" The boy spoke to him, his eyes glistening with the tears that started forming. Itachi was unable to respond as he didn't know what the boy played at. Or rather, he already suspected what the blond so suddenly came up with, in his 'spur of a moment faze' as Kakashi called it. Keeping his face as unmoved and emotionless as possible, Itachi let Naruto continue, not sure if he should stop the tirade or let it be. What irked him though, were countless witnesses...

"What, you lost your voice?" The blond asked Itachi bitterly and looked at the guests and clan attendants accusingly. They all blinked, glanced and whispered in between each other, some gasped and covered their mouths, others glanced at the Uchiha clan head questioningly. Naruto faced the heir again and a shiny tear slid down his cheek.

Itachi frowned with indecipherable emotion. "Naruto..."

"I thought that you, that _we_..." The blond cracked and wiped the tear away with the back of the hand. "...you bugger..." He added hoarsely, hiding his face behind his hand and started to run out of the hall.

No one stopped him as everyone was too lost, too frozen, too confused. The room was silent and each of the blond's steps as he hurried out of the building was loud and echoed in the silence that had formed.

And then everyone was looking at _him_. Itachi suppressed the urge to cringe. He hoped that his face did not answer their questions. What had just Naruto done? In front of so many people?

"Son...?" Fugaku inquired, his brows furrowed.

After several attempts to speak, opening and closing his mouth, where he tried to decide which answer, and which action was better, Itachi looked up. "I'll go...calm him." He answered softly. And before anyone could object, he gracefully strode out through the puzzled, parting crowd, with every intention of finding the blond.

He didn't hear nor see the people stir, and Hanzaki verbally attacking the head of Uchiha clan. "What is the meaning of this? Young Uchiha is in a relationship?" The man scowled and unsheathed the sword that was placed on his back. Harshly, he pointed the tip it at Fugaku. Said man raised his brows and then both of his hands in placating manner. People moved away from the both of them, expecting a bloody argument.

"There's no need for violence, Hanzaki-san. We're all civilized people, let us settle this matter in peace." Fugaku spoke, he was rather lost in the matter himself, but determined to get to the bottom of it.

"I _am_ settling this in peace!" The man interrupted, turning red as his temper rose, his flush seemed to merge with the red band covering his forehead. "You should have warned us that Kotohime would have to seduce the boy first." He panted and then while blinking, lowered the zanbato. Then he grinned widely as if his threat was a joke and grabbed a tall blond woman from the side. "Well, we also have blonds if it's his preference!"

The woman smiled sheepishly, and the crowd sweat dropped.

xxx

Following Naruto's trace, Itachi found him in his personal training spot that said blond often invaded. At least the boy wasn't stupid enough to stay in plain sight after that scene. It was dark now and there were no street lights nearby, the area was shadowed and well hidden from prying eyes. Not thinking for too long, the jounin placed an illusion over the place to make sure they were not heard nor interrupted.

Each step he got closer, his anger and frustration got closer to the surface of his skin and the forefront of his mind. And he gritted his teeth, which wasn't something he did often. So little could affect him that way, and Naruto had taken the first place on the list for a very long time.

Rustling of grass under the blond's feet alerted him that he was close and Naruto did not try to stay quiet. _Stupid blond_. He walked faster and saw the prankster pace, nibbling his nails in a nervous gesture. Then the blond looked up hopefully, and turned to him. "Well, did it work?" he asked, clearly excited.

Itachi no longer bothered to keep his expression neutral; scowling, he fisted the front of Naruto's clothes and roughly pushed him into the bark of the tree. "What were you thinking?"

The boy showed surprise and his hands automatically covered Itachi's fists to ease the violent gesture or pull the hands away. "W-what do you mean? I tried to help ya!"

"Help?" The brunet exclaimed incredulously and gulped the air to say more, but the blond he had pinned to the hard surface beat him to it.

"Look, I know I made your life difficult since the beginning, messed it up to be blunt, but I want to fix it, you know? I wanted to..."

"Fix it? You just DESTROYED it!" Itachi bellowed, emphasising his point by lifting the blond and pushing him into the tree again.

"Ouch, wait! Calm down, wasn't it a brilliant plan? They think we're dating or something and Fuuma clan will step down, see, and all this arrangement is nullified!" Naruto explained quickly, sincerely, just the way he saw it.

Itachi looked down on him, breathing harshly and glaring. He was so angry that his sharingan activated and spun, which caused a shiver to run down Naruto's spine.

"Did you even think about my REPUTATION? You've PULLED that stunt in front of dozens of people!" His hands shook with anger and even fear. "Dammit, Naruto, you're not even fourteen! Even if they believe this – do you realize what it looks like for Kami's sake! It was stupid! STUPID!"

"Well sorry from trying to SAVE your LIFE!" The blond retaliated, pushing Itachi away.

The jounin stumbled but straightened up. "I wasn't DYING!" He screamed and attacked the blond again. This time, Naruto fought against the manhandling and they used their fists to hurt each other. It made them feel better to get rid of excess energy. Itachi did not hold back. For once confident that Naruto deserved every bit of pain. Naruto treated the assault seriously, and fought back with as much power. Aware but no longer caring that he felt the pain twice, Itachi kicked the boy's side. "You didn't even ask me! Just expected me to play _along_ you stupid brat!" Itachi accused in between strikes. Seconds later, he managed to hit the side of Naruto's face with a well aimed punch. The smack of it had its pain reflected on his own face but the satisfaction of hurting the blond was stronger.

"Umf, bugger, that's the thanks I get for trying anything at all while you waited for the noose to wind around your neck? Well, you're welcome!" The blond shouted in response and managed to land a hit on Itachi's jaw, after a fake move with his elbow that seemingly aimed at the side of Itachi's neck but was followed by the real attack, a trick that was part of his reflexes now.

The young man stepped back and rubbed the place that was sure to sport a visible bruise.

Both panted and nursed painful spots, glaring at each other reproachfully. Naruto was the first to pay attention to Itachi's attire, he then paid attention to his own. "We look ridiculous." He muttered, grimacing. Their robes were all crumpled, dirty and very un-ninja like.

Itachi glanced at himself more thoroughly too, smiled, then grimaced. "Don't change the subject."

The blond huffed. "Alright! What do you want me to do?" He inquired helplessly and leaned against the tree that had abused his back a moment ago.

"I don't know." The brunet whispered and leaned on the tree that was closest to him. "They will assume we are seeing each other in secret, that we're _gay_, and that I was a coward to hide the truth, or that Fugaku was a fool to ignore it."

"Answer me, one question, honestly." Naruto asked exasperated.

Itachi looked up with a pinning look 'was I ever anything but honest?'.

"What is it that _you_ want?"

xxx

Eight steps before reaching the main house Naruto stopped. "Are you sure that they're still waiting? We could go there tomorrow." He asked Itachi in a whisper. It was dark outside, night time by the blond's estimation. And as there was no noise in the district area he suspected that majority of guests already left to go home, after some apology from the Uchiha clan head.

"Father's most probably pacing, waiting for me to come back and explain everything." The young man replied, gazing at the windows. The lights were still on, which proved that they were 'welcomed'.

With a sigh, Itachi opened the door and pushed the blond in front of him. They took their sandals off in the empty hallway and exchanged a long look at hearing Sasuke's voice coming from the living room. Wordlessly, they debated if coming back was actually a good idea. Doubt entered Itachi's eyes and Naruto's stare became sharper. Before their conversation gained in 'volume', Fugaku appeared in the doorframe with a glare that could kill. Immediately, the pair dropped their telling expressions and straightened, standing side by side.

"Inside." The man said and pointed at the living room. Without a word, Naruto and Itachi walked past him and saw that Sasuke was sitting in the chair with his arms crossed and a grimace marring his face. Also, he was tapping his foot in a nervous gesture. Mikoto was pacing, not knowing what to do with her hands, and covered her mouth, her cheek or forehead with a palm of one or both of them.

None of them changed clothes yet, so dressed in traditional, occasional attires and ready to start an argument, all parties present looked almost as ridiculous as Naruto and Itachi noticed they did when they had started fighting about two hours ago.

"Sit." The older man ordered, pointing towards the floor. They sat on their knees, both of them together on tatami and Fugaku sat in front of them, while Sasuke and Mikoto directed their full attention on the pair. Sasuke with the darkest of scowls, and Mikoto with apprehension visible in every movement and the occasional twitch. "Speak."

Both of them made noises in response, opening their mouths and humming, trying to form words and then starting over again. The upper lip of the older man started creasing and noticing it, Naruto regained his ability to speak.

"We're a couple."

Itachi sighed at that, clearly not happy with his choice of words.

"I... I admitted to have... feelings and Itachi..." The blond continued stuttering.

"I accepted..." Itachi added quietly, looking at the floor to hide his eyes.

"though hesitantly..." Naruto contributed without being asked.

"And we started seeing each other..." The young man said firmly, still looking down. Fugaku kept looking from one to the other, judging and glaring, daring them to lie about their relationship.

"In secret..." The blond added, as if to make sure the man understood how they were dating. Unlike Itachi, he was looking up at the man, with his bright blue eyes opened widely, exuding all their honesty and innocence.

Itachi bit his lip to keep his face expressionless; he thought that the tear that had glinted on Naruto's cheek and slid down like it was a 'star of innocence and pain', at the party, was a fluke. But this open, sincere confession of their... affiliation flew from the blond's mouth like he had prepared for it for months. And the face that expressed how scared, guilty, and _in love_ Naruto was... Well, Itachi had heard from Kakashi, Naruto's instructor, that the blond was a great actor, perfect for infiltration and 'role playing', if you get the hint... _Itachi, you're doomed_. He whispered in his mind, unable to raise his face, because if he saw the faces of his family, his parents mostly, that without a doubt believed every single word that left Naruto's talented mouth he'd either show how astonished he was, start laughing like a maniac, or he'd do something plain stupid.

"Itachi _did_ mention something about that chick being a candidate to become someone's fiancée..." The boy continued, admitting that he was informed of the situation.

"I was too subtle..." the jounin added to justify Naruto's behaviour at the party.

"So it didn't quite seem to me that the girl was going to become _his_ fiancée..." the blond pointed at his right side, where Itachi knelt and ignored the accusing tone.

"I planned to reject Kotohime-san either way..." Itachi justified _himself_, this time, and frowned, to show that he did not plan to hurt the blond.

"But that did not occur to me at the moment and I just reacted!" Naruto threw his arms up helplessly.

Itachi didn't know what to say after that, and his friend looked like he didn't either, so they settled on observing what Itachi's family would do. After a long inner debate, the jounin finally looked up, slowly, to see that Fugaku had his brows pushed far into his hairline, in astonishment, Sasuke's eyes had widened comically, in disbelief that said 'I don't believe a fucking word you said, did you actually expect me to?' and Mikoto was staring at them with her mouth open... in wonder...

The head of the family snapped out of his trance and wanted to say something, but then his gaze settled on their bruises, the side of Naruto's face, and the side of Itachi's face and Itachi's jaw. As if on cue, both of them swallowed and lifted their hands to touch the abused places gently.

"We had a fight before coming here." Itachi informed solemnly.

The man stood abruptly and started pacing, as the brunet expected him to. The moment the man's back was turned to them, the pair exchanged glances. _How did it go? What now? _

Sasuke gave them questioning glares, keeping his mad pose with his arms crossed and exuberated a subtle level of killing intent.

Suddenly a hand landed on Sasuke's shoulder. "Your brother doesn't think so." Fugaku said, looking at the youngest Uchiha inquiringly. The boy cringed and gulped.

"Well... yeah." He answered and immediately Naruto addressed him.

"Come on, Sasuke! We're not hiding anymore!" The blond said waving his hands.

"You said that you didn't know of their relationship!" The older man almost shook his youngest son.

"I didn't, I swear!" Sasuke replied, scared now.

Naruto looked like he wanted to abandon his kneeling position and jump to convince his brother. "You don't have to pretend to be oblivious! We've revealed that we're together!" He shouted, twitching and still waving his hands nervously. Now that he thought about it, Itachi noted that Naruto wanted to gather Sasuke's attention with his gestures in some surreal subtle way, while Sasuke continued to gaze fearfully at their father.

"They're not really together, it's just some idiotic prank Naruto played!" The boy spoke quickly and looked at the blond, who seeing that finally Sasuke was looking at them, started blinking with one eye, grabbed Itachi's hand, waved with their 'joined' palms, and even elbowed his 'partner' which forced Itachi to contribute and nod several times to confirm that the blond wasn't kidding. Thankfully, Mikoto didn't see that as she tried to get close to Fugaku and lay her trembling hands on his shoulders, to calm him, perhaps?

Not paying attention to his wife, Fugaku fiercely turned to the pair again, pointing at his youngest son. "See? He says, he didn't know!" The man shouted, holding Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasuke! Stop denying it and protecting us, you idiot!" Naruto screamed in response.

"They seem to believe you pretend to protect them!" Fugaku continued, raising his son off the chair.

"I swear I didn't know they're together!" The boy wriggled in Fugaku's hold and at this point the woman tried to pry her husband off their youngest son. Naruto continued to make 'subtle' signs and mouthed some words in Sasuke's direction, who turned his gaze from them to father, to Mikoto and back. _What are they playing at_? "I _didn't know_! ...They... I d-didn't... see...w-w-w-well... well...m- maybe ...maybe I did?"

At the last quiet word the man threw Sasuke back into a chair and raised his arms to heaven with a scream of frustration. "A-a-argh!"

Mikoto rushed to his side and started talking and whispering really quickly, embracing the man, rubbing circles on his back and generally babying him to bury his temper.

Sasuke huffed, shaking his head as he was now in undignified position in a chair, and with a stone face, gave the pair on the floor his best glare. In response, _both_ Naruto and Itachi gave him _subtle_ 'thumbs up'.

He added sharingan to his glare, hoping that they pee right then and there from fear. ...Or at least cower from his anger. This was a prank on the largest scale and to think he wasn't included? Besides that, how could they make a joke of such an affair? There were guests, deals made, and their parents certainly didn't appreciate that. And Itachi, Itachi wasn't a person to get involved in such a thing, he'd never agree, no matter how much Naruto tried to persuade him, or what blackmail would've been used. So, it only meant that his older brother did this for his own benefit or had no other logical choice. ...Or it simply wasn't Itachi.

"..No, no, that's enough!" Fugaku responded to something his wife said and turned to Naruto and his eldest son, revealing a red, furious and sweating face. "I feel that if you linger here for a moment longer I will strangle you with my bare hands. Get out of my sight!"

The pair swallowed, nodded slightly and without another word, walked out, followed by Sasuke's mighty glower.

xxx

Naruto opened the door and walked in. "I am home." He spoke, and started taking off those same, white but dirty sandals. From inside the house, his guardians appeared and faced him. Uruchi with tears in her eyes, fiddling with her hands and Teyaki with a puzzled expression, scratching the back of his head. They already changed from dress robes into night clothes, it appeared they would be sleeping now if it wasn't for Naruto's absence.

"We are so worried..." The woman started but stopped when she saw Itachi enter the house and close the door behind him.

"Um, guys?" Naruto directed attention at himself and looked in between all the people present. "Can Itachi stay the night?" He asked sheepishly, adding an apologetic tone;

The older pair nodded. "Of course, we understand. You're welcome to stay, Itachi-kun. Naruto always has a spare futon in his room." Uruchi spoke and took Naruto's face in her hands. "Is there anything you need, dear?"

"No, thank you." The blond whispered and the woman kissed his forehead. She stepped back and started pushing her confused husband into the corridor and one of the rooms. "Well then, get a good night's sleep, boys. It's late and you'll need strength tomorrow."

Naruto grimaced and cringed, wondering if tomorrow could be worse after the first reaction of Itachi's father. He highly doubted the man could suddenly change his stance after one night of sleep. Fugaku-san would have to get used to the thought of his son in relationship with a jinchuuriki, first. Imagining the scowls and growls the man would make at night each time he remembered that fact, the blond tilted his head smirked. ...Maybe it wasn't that bad.

Itachi rolled his eyes after seeing Naruto's quirk. The blond was like an open book, what with all expressions he made consciously and unconsciously. Just a second ago he was anxious and now he was self pleased. That was probably optimism towards tomorrow.

The boy led the way to his own room and seeing the mess of scrolls and papers, pushed everything in pile in one corner. Then ignoring it, pulled out the spare futon that truly looked to be often in use.

"Sasuke likes to stay over, because he's too lazy to go home. We work over tactics and techniques in here. For some reason, he believes my room is more 'cosy'." Naruto answered the unasked question and snorted. "personally, I think that he doesn't mind making a mess in my room, while his own is got to be 'tidy'."

Itachi closed the door, and smirked, knowing it to be true. He watched as his friend made him a bed beside his own, moving around the room like a little tornado. Suddenly, a pile of clothes was shoved in his chest, and he stared at it dubiously.

"Not your sizes, I know, but it's better than sleeping in that outfit, don't you think?" The boy asked, pointing at the wrinkled kimono with his stare. "Unless... you prefer to sleep naked or something?" Naruto blinked inquiringly, without any double meaning or wriggle of brows Itachi could've expected.

Blinking as well, the young man went through the pile and one by one, gave the shirts back to Naruto, keeping a pair of pyjama pants, that were a bit too short but would have to do. He hoped that his sight deceived him in the darkness, and frogs beating foxes images on the fabric was just his imagination, though, knowing his luck, and knowing Naruto, the caricature image of those animals was far more ridiculous in reality than now. Thankfully, the door was closed, and there was no Sasuke, no father and no mother to see him. Well, no one beside the shameless blond himself. ...Maybe he should've chosen a 'naked or something' option?

Itachi looked up and saw the yellow tornado make a motion over his face that looked like brushing one's teeth and walked out. ...Probably to the bathroom. The brunet sighed and started the process of changing into 'night's attire' while the boy was out and noted that all his previous concern about situation mellowed to the point of feeling normal. Has he accepted it so quickly? Unbelievable. Hours ago he was ready to beat the boy up, seriously harm him, to be honest, but now they got ready for the night like nothing ever happened. Seeing the ease with which they treated each other, he decided that for the moment, he could live with it.

With trained care, Itachi folded the robes and not finding the laundry bin, placed them on the chair.

"You can use my toothbrush, it's orange." Naruto whispered so close to him that Itachi almost jumped. He was sure that he didn't hear him come back, so he assumed that the blond unconsciously used stealth to move in silent house as his guardians peacefully slept. Still, the wild beating of his heart wasn't pleasant, as the thought of the blond sneaking around without him noticing. Other than that, he noted that his friend didn't have to inform him of the colour of his brush, as it was all too painfully obvious. _Well, Itachi, we all do things for the first time sometimes, and it looks like your first teeth brushing with orange accessory has come._

He cringed. Not that using someone else's brush was disgusting, but if it was associated with any colour other than orange, he'd be more willing. Not that he'd say no, the same as with those funny pants, either.

Stifling a sigh that wanted to escape him, Itachi walked out, found the opened door in the corridor that had lights turned on, and thankful that Naruto was thoughtful enough for that went through his usual ablutions, using the damned orange brush and utterly ignoring how pyjama garment looked under lights. He told himself that it was only for one night, and somehow, tomorrow things will be back to normal. He sighed and turned the lights off, glad that Naruto's guardians were sleeping.

The blond already turned and twisted under the covers, looking for the comfortable position. Itachi rolled his eyes at that, because it proved that at night, unconscious, the boy was just as restless as in the time of the day. Conscious of that fact, they young man mentally prepared for snores, mumblings and kicks that might disturb him before morning came.

"I mumble, snore and cuddle, which shouldn't bother you as you're on a separate futon, but Sasuke noted that I also 'travel' sometimes, so I apologize in advance for any of those." The boy spoke softly.

Itachi snorted before he could stop himself and settled under the covers as well. "I think I can survive that."

"You better." Naruto added and turned on his side facing his friend. "I'd wish you sweet dreams but you have to accept my wishing you quiet and peaceful night, because otherwise, sweet dreams won't last long."

As a guest Itachi'd say it didn't matter, but he just made an agreeing noise. Satisfied, the blond nodded and burrowed his face into the pillow. Another thought ringed in the brunet's mind and he spoke into the darkness. "You cuddle?"

The blond made an agreeing hum, "Uh, love it."

xxx

Crowds of people stared and pointed at them as they walked down the street.

It looked like rumours and gossip reached everyone by now and people questioned their relationship. With distaste, some stares were directed at their joined hands and quickly turned into glares. It wasn't funny. Especially, as most of the time, those same people directed worse of their gazes at Naruto, like he was the reason. And then, as if pitying him, the villagers gave him supportive nods and glances.

It was making him sick. He squeezed the blond's hand tighter, to reassure him that it did not matter. But before he could say anything, the noise from behind stopped him and he turned around, his brows furrowed.

But there wasn't anything or anyone that could be the source. Itachi started to question it but for some reason could no longer move. Desperate, he screamed but no sound came out. And the noise, the banging continued.

The crowd of people turned into the bleary picture of the unfamiliar room. He was on the floor and saw the light that came from the window, it made strange shadows...

And then abruptly he heard knocks, someone knocked on the door. What hour was it?

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them, resigned. He moved to rise but found that he couldn't. Something heavy was stopping him.

Further inspection revealed that while he was sleeping on his side, Naruto 'travelled' and embraced him from behind. Itachi compared himself to the pillow or a toy a child would clutch possessively. Not that he minded... too much. He didn't even notice until someone woke him.

With a sigh, the young man freed himself from the tight grasp and hurried to the front door. Whoever knocked, could still be there with an urgent matter. The wooden floor was cold and he absently wondered why he didn't put on the socks. On the instinctive way to the entrance he rubbed his face to wake up properly but gave up as he needed to feel cold water on his face and a hot coffee flowing down his throat for that.

Opening the door he quickly saw Sasuke scuffing his feet in an impatient, irritated manner, with a bag in his hand. First thought that popped in his mind at the sight was that Sasuke had no reason to appear here, and the second that it was too early.

But he knew that Sasuke was always an early riser.

The boy probably heard that someone walked out, because he turned to face the door but instead of greeting Itachi, Sasuke froze and blinked.

Not ready to deal with whatever problem his brother had, the jounin motioned for him to get inside the house.

But Sasuke didn't budge.

"What is it?" Itachi asked.

The boy blinked again and dubiously pointed at the older brother. "Did you even see what you're wearing? I'm not going with _you_ anywhere. Here," the boy handed the bag to Itachi, keeping quite a distance between them, as if afraid to get too close. Meanwhile the jounin, just as confused, looked himself over, and seeing those bloody ridiculous pants remembered the details of the previous night. It didn't give the necessary energy and push to react, though, so he just took the bag from Sasuke; it was handed to him after all.

"Come inside, Sasuke, I'm sure Naruto and his guardians wouldn't mind."

The boy shook his head in denial of many meanings. "I'm here just to bring you clothes and deliver a message from mother. 'You can come back home, but don't aggravate nor provoke your father. He will get used to the new state of things.'" Sasuke even added the manner in which Mikoto would've spoken.

Itachi nodded and motioned his brother into the house again.

"No. My part is done. I'm leaving so deal with this mess yourselves." The boy said waving his hand, turned on his heel and started to walk off.

Itachi grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and pulled back.

"Hey! Let go!" The boy shouted and struggled against the hold.

"We still need to talk." Itachi calmly replied and managed to effortlessly draw his brother into the doorframe, where Sasuke immediately snatched onto the edges with his limbs.

"We don't!" The boy hissed. "I will not be involved in this!"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Did I give you a choice?"

Dragging the youngest Uchiha into the house, where he still continued to kick and writhe, Itachi hauled, almost threw him into Naruto's room, conscious of the fact that the blond's guardians might still be sleeping.

Temper rising, hair in disarray and eyes wild, Sasuke quickly jumped off the floor where he was unceremoniously discarded. Itachi closed the door and ignoring his brother stepped to the sleeping blond.

"Naruto." He spoke, hoping that simply calling the blond would be enough. Naruto was lying on both of futons, in a weird angle, tangled in covers. Strangely, he clutched Itachi's pillow now as a replacement. Thankfully, even if covers were mostly on his legs, the blond wore night pants and simple sleeveless shirt. He looked more presentable than Itachi himself at the moment. "Naruto, wake up."

Sasuke, who was speechless watching his older brother, sighed and shoved him aside. "He's never going to wake up if you call him like you sing a lullaby." He snorted and then started shaking his teammate with unusual force, knowing well of all quirks. "Up, dobe! Time to make some things clear."

The blond moaned, raised his head and opened his eyes half way. He looked at the person that woke him so rudely, Sasuke who crouched by him, and then at Itachi, who patiently stood and bent over him. "Um, right..." He rubbed his face and tried untangling his hair, still half asleep.

Sasuke stood up and gave a suffering sigh. Then he glanced at bare-chested, barely conscious Itachi, who needed his dose of coffee. "Why aren't you changing out of that?" He asked and pointed at the pants that obviously belonged to the blond.

The young man blinked and looked down at the bag in his hand. "I need a shower."

"Go take it, 'Tachi. I'll look into some breakfast... ." Naruto muttered, yawned and walked out of the room. The jounin nodded and Sasuke rolled his eyes, seeing that the pair shared a trait of zombie state in the mornings. As Itachi went to the bathroom Sasuke went after his blond brother into the kitchen where Naruto and Uruchi, who must've woke at some point before or after Sasuke came, were busy preparing food. The woman ruffled the boy's hair.

"Go wash your teeth, Naruto." She admonished. "Good morning, Sasuke, come on in, settle down, boy."

"Morning Aunt Uruchi." Sasuke greeted and sat at the table. Naruto glanced at him and then spoke to his guardian quietly.

"Mum, whatever you hear me and guys speaking about, is a great, _grand_, super secret all right? Like, our lives might depend on it, ok?"

The woman froze for a moment, looking unusually serious, and then nodded. "Eat you breakfast, I'll go and bring snacks to old man." She said cheerfully. "He opened the shop so early, surely he will need additional energy." She put two plates on the table for Naruto and Sasuke and gathered the snacks, thermos and actually went out to Teyaki with a smile. It was her way to show that she didn't plan to hear what they talked about, even though she didn't mind Naruto's secrets. The blond smiled and placed tea before his brother.

A moment later Itachi walked in, dressed in his usual shinobi attire but without a pouch and sandals... and with wet hair. He sat on the opposite side of his younger brother and Naruto was already putting a plate with food in front of him and a cup of coffee under his nose. "Milk and four cubes of sugar, dear." The blond whispered and kissed Itachi's cheek.

Sasuke, who was at that moment drinking his tea, choked at the sight and sputtered.

Itachi just gave his brother an evil stare and sipped his perfect morning drink. Dazed, Sasuke switched his gaze between the pair and a million of disturbing thoughts went through his mind. Naruto started eating too and drank a bitter, black tea.

"Don't mind Naruto. He's already practicing." The jounin broke the silence and his dark eyes revealed mirth even though his face was made of stone.

"Practicing? Practicing what?" the boy inquired, blinking and grimacing.

"Soon people will start to pay attention, look for a proof that we're a couple and try to separate us if they believe that our relationship is false, unstable or weak." Itachi explained, but Sasuke continued to frown.

"I don't understand..."

Naruto, who looked to be more aware and chipper now, elaborated. "They want Itachi to get married, and he doesn't want to. We'll pretend to be a couple for a while until this business goes down, and then break up quietly, when there's no pressure or when 'Tachi finds someone."

"That's crazy!" Sasuke yelled, unable to imagine that plan working. Everybody knew that they were just friends.

"That's what I thought too, but Naruto put this plan into motion without consulting me first." Itachi said, elegantly using chopsticks and glaring at the blond beside him. Naruto just smiled in response.

Sasuke turned to his teammate. "Don't tell me. Another one of your 'improvise and see consequences later' episodes? This time you crossed the line, dobe!"

"It's pointless, Sasuke. He doesn't even realize what he got us into." Itachi added. The blond pouted and stood up to reach some shelf.

"Don't be mad with me, I did it in your best interests." Naruto voiced and placed a plate of sweet senbei on the table, close to his friend. "Here, I'll make it up to you!"

Itachi just smiled and shook his head.

"Dobe. There will be spies, any moment from today, watching your every step, hearing every word. If you want to succeed, you'd really have to play the role to the best of your abilities and for the longest time. You don't know who's keeping an eye on you to check if you're boyfriends. I don't think simply _declaring_ you're a couple is going to be enough." Sasuke informed him seriously and finally calm, reached for his tea.

The mood in the room turned sombre.

Naruto, who stood by Itachi, gave a sad, slight smirk and gave the older Uchiha a tender hug from behind, encircling his neck with his arms. The jounin stiffened a bit.

"I know. I'll do my best. Do you doubt me, teme?"

xxx

The moment team Kakashi gathered in their usual spot, on the small bridge over the stream, Naruto knew that something changed. For worse.

Hana gave him measuring, disdainful looks, looking down her nose at him. For better effect, her posture was straightened and arms crossed. When he and Sasuke came, she did not even greet them, just glared meaningfully.

Kakashi-sensei on the other hand, made a visible disappointed face, shook his head and overall made the blond feel miserable. "Naruto, I know that you don't like formal parties and may have a grudge against Fuuma clan, but whatever motivated you for that prank? It was cruel and you went out of line. Uchiha clan is well respected and you made them look like..."

"It wasn't a prank!" The boy shouted interrupting the captain, fisting his hands in anger and unable to stop the pulsing temple and a ragged breathing. "It wasn't a joke! Why do the people keep thinking that it was!"

Hana's dogs whined, hearing the start of the argument. They pushed and sniffed her legs, but the girl was too frustrated to react. "I can't believe that a guy like you could get Itachi-san! He's gorgeous, he's a genius, and you're a lucky, crazy, totally opposite of him personality wise person! For God's sake, you're brothers!" She accused pointing a finger at her blonde teammate.

"Hey! We've never felt like brothers! Sasuke and I- yes, without a doubt, we've got a brother bond of the highest level, but Itachi and I started like friends!" Naruto explained, verbally attacking the girl that made assumptions.

Kakashi looked stupefied, but then the man just shook his head to clear his thoughts and spoke. "Stop it, Naruto! The joke is over, it isn't funny! You shouldn't treat it seriously, Hana."

All team members became quiet. Kakashi forced his 'be quiet' gaze on them, Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes, Hana reined in her expression and posture, and Naruto... well, the blond gave his captain the iciest, sharpest and angriest glare _ever_.

Seeing as no one was going to step down nor clear the matter, Sasuke coughed to get the attention of others. "It wasn't a prank, sensei. The dobe just couldn't wait until after the party to have a row with Itachi. As a result, he created a big mess by revealing matters that should stay quiet, hidden and forgotten." He grimaced as he spoke, showing the blond that he was displeased that he had to cover him, and giving others an impression that he wasn't fully supporting his brothers' relationship.

The girl half sobbed, half screamed and turned around from the group. She started kicking the wooden construction in defeat and aggravation. Like many other girls her age, she had a crush on a heir of Uchiha clan, and couldn't accept the fact that her teammate was in relationship with the boy of her dreams, a hidden one, and worst of all, her teammate was a male, which most obviously meant that she had no chance with Itachi in the first place. It was a shocking revelation, to say the least.

The dogs sat on their back legs and growled, giving glances at Sasuke, who glared in a quiet response.

Naruto and Kakashi, who were locked in a stare, stayed quiet as well, but the jounin gradually changed his expression from accusing, to the shocked one. The battle of gazes was broken when both of them were snapped out of it by loud cracks and kicks Hana made.

"It's impossible." The man voiced, turning his head left and right, slowly, in denial. "I would've known..."

"You wouldn't. No one would've, if it wasn't for my rushed judgement and temper." The blond admitted coldly, still calmly mad about his teammates' reaction.

The jounin turned to Sasuke for help, knowing that he was the most intelligent, logical and reliable one of all his students. But the boy just gave him an expression that said that he didn't like to be involved in this sensitive matter, and the man suspected that he must've felt very _uncomfortable_ with the knowledge of such an affiliation between his brothers.

It couldn't be a prank if Sasuke behaved this way.

Kakashi sighed and hid his face in the palm of his hand, dreading the day that just started.

xxx

Even though it wasn't quite an evening yet, the place was crowded. Teams, dates and families were present at every table, making a comfortable noise. Sometimes though, some of them stared and glared when passing the table.

It wasn't nice. Naruto glared back boldly, not caring anymore about subtlety. The barbeque place was great and cosy, but if this continued, he would not step foot here again.

Usually team Kakashi spent here some relax time after complicated missions, but today, Sasuke suggested that he met with Itachi for a 'date'. And the blond didn't have anything against the idea, until now. It was clear that he wasn't welcomed by customers.

"Naruto!" Someone shouted and before he could turn around, a pair of chuunin jumped on the bench on the other side of the table. Kotetsu and Izumo looked like they were looking for him all over the village, and at last, could regain their breath. He raised a brow at their behaviour.

"Good we've seen your yellow mop of hair! Do you know what sort of rumours go 'round the place?" Kotetsu asked, leaning over the table and speaking as if he wanted to share a secret.

The blond crossed his arms and glared. "I have an idea."

Izumo smiled. "Come on, clear it up for the best Konoha source of gossip and information. We're gate keepers, we need to know such things. What trouble have you wrought now?"

Naruto huffed. "Everyone immediately assumes that _I'm _that bad guy who started everything."

Mischievously, spike haired chuunin whispered. "Isn't it always that way, though?"

They waited for an answer from the glaring boy, but the evil gaze turned away from them onto something behind them, and blue eyes softened and sparkled with happiness. The pair tilted their heads in confusion, and then saw none other than Uchiha Itachi, the name present in every conversation these days, tied to the same rumours that recently circled around the blond.

Casually and calmly, the young man walked to the table and sat beside Naruto, quite close as the pair of gatekeepers noted. Close enough for their shoulders, and probably thighs, to touch. It wasn't what one normally considered as friendly proximity. But still, it could be like that because they were _very_ close friends, or brothers.

Moving his stare from one uninvited guest at the table to another, Itachi pointedly lifted his arm and sneaked it around Naruto's shoulders, making their position speaking on its own. "Do we have company for dinner, a double date, Naruto?"

The boy looked up at him happily and leaned in. "If you don't mind, I'd offer them to join us."

Mouths dropping and eyes wide, the blond's friends waved their hands in denial and sputtered. "No no! We're not t-together! It's... it's ok, you h-have a date so we'll just g-go... and you know...keep quiet about... you, you know, seeing each other..." They muttered, glancing fearfully at the jounin that was scary even when he was friendly. And if Itachi smiled and looked kind and soft, one expected to be killed slowly and painfully. That was what rumours said, anyway.

"No need to hide it, guys. You may spread this around all you like, 'cause I don't want any girl or guy out there thinking they can touch what's mine." The blond spoke calmly but with a pressuring tone. They immediately understood that they were to spread the threatening message as well. Cowed, they glanced at Itachi, wondering if he'd oppose the idea. His answer would most likely show the dynamics of the relationship, or even the stage of it.

"Likewise." The young man replied, and the gatekeepers nodded frantically before stumbling off the bench and hurrying out.

"See ya around!" Naruto said as his friends left, and turned to his 'date'. "You scared them to death. Now they will avoid me."

"Good." Itachi muttered and watched as food was brought to their table. The girl that served was blushing madly, and didn't say a word, probably too shocked, too cowed and too embarrassed.

"I asked to realise our order when you show up." Naruto voiced needlessly, but the jounin nodded nonetheless. They started cooking and spoke with glances that had far more meaning than usual. Sometimes there was a glare, when Naruto did some stupid thing like casually entwine their legs under the table, or kiss the young man's cheek not bothering to _ask_ Itachi for permission or simply _give_ a warning sign. Here and there, they gave evil stares to people that pointed at them or made disgusted faces. Suffice to say, none of them expected such a 'heart warming' reaction to them being together. It destroyed any good mood or pleasant tension in the air of their 'date', which prompted them to leave and reconsider the idea of meetings in public places.

xxx

The training ground was obliterated.

The blond was breathing heavily, bending and holding onto his knees, trying to come up with a plan to defeat his opponent.

Itachi was behind the trunk of the tree, panting too, after using the most powerful fire technique he knew. The wave of flames, a jutsu that covered a wide amount of space; the only escape was to move several metres high in the air, above the flames that were active for at least fifteen seconds, and that was much, in the world where normal people couldn't fly. Naruto though, wasn't normal, and even if he could not fly, he could create a shadow clone while in the air, which could push or throw his creator higher, and be replaced with the next one. It was ridiculous, and both of the opponents knew that, but this creative way of using bunshin saved Naruto's life, or at least, his skin. Itachi got used to the blonds improvisations and tactics that were outside of the box, therefore he simply knew that whatever he used, Naruto would magically avoid getting hurt. That meant that their training ground turned into the utterly demolished area. Would the Hokage charge them for damages?

The blond emerged from the smoke and wisps of flames, directing a devastating burst of wind and with it the heat that was stagnant in the air at the line of trees where Itachi was recuperating. The young man tried to run but seeing that he could get literally cooked, used the replacement jutsu and appeared on the other side of their destroyed field.

"Cough, can we have a break?" The jounin asked, finding a cover behind another three, unsure of whether or not the blond would agree.

Naruto turned around to the side where Itachi's voice came from. "Can? I think we need it!" He answered and saw his friend reveal himself and step forward, but instead of moving closer, Itachi leaned on the tree, looking exhausted. The blond joined him, slowly making steps that made his muscles scream in indignation. Together, they used the tree trunk, that was the largest and the least destroyed in the area, to have a moment of rest. The sounds of wood cracking and burning, flames ceasing to rise filled the silence.

Tired of being judged by villagers they discarded the idea of having dates in public to satisfy clans that without a doubt observed them. It was too much. The stress of playing the role alone was enough, but coupled with reactions they got and general behaviour of different people made it a hard task. The girl that almost became Itachi's fiancée kept approaching him and making attempts at seducing him. Other females of the village suddenly started attacking Naruto, in revenge or for some reason in an attempt to seduce him as well. None of it worked, of course, but all of it grated on their nerves. Sasuke insisted that if they planned to execute their 'prank' to its fullest, they had to have dates in public places, with gestures of affection, touches, kisses and hugs included to make it believable. Itachi though, insisted that Sasuke simply wanted to make their life more complicated, since he was pulled into the situation without his consent. Itachi was pulled into it without being asked as well, but he knew that wrong choice of words and expressions motivated Naruto to act without thinking, and therefore some fault was on his own shoulders. Besides, becoming independent about his private life and choice of partner was sure to make his life as Uchiha heir more bearable. If Naruto wanted to help with it, then who was Itachi to refuse?

They regained their breath, no longer panting, but the layer of sweat wasn't that easy to get rid of, nor tiredness. Itachi slowly turned his body closer to the blond and leaned over him from the side. Then he shifted his face closer, until his lips were close to Naruto's ear. "Close your eyes, make it seem like you just listen to me but don't react."

The boy did so, closing his lids softly and tilting his head so that it seemed he tried to hear better.

"We've been watched for hours by a spy, but our display of techniques and dangerous elements did not deter this guy from observing. I think he's waiting for something, and doesn't plan to leave until he sees that." Itachi spoke, almost burying his face in blonde locks to hide the movement of his lips. A good spy could read those and it wasn't what the jounin wanted. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes." The blond replied suggestively and smirked.

"Don't open your eyes too much, they're too telling." Itachi muttered and Naruto gasped when he felt his friend touch his neck with his lips. "We better look like we do it all the time, Naruto." The jounin reprimanded between nips and even slight sucking. The blond was surprised there was little pretending in those. But he supposed one couldn't fake without actually doing something. Thinking quickly, he relaxed and purposefully wound his arms around his 'boyfriend's' neck.

Itachi trailed up with his explorations and his hands found their place on Naruto's hips. The breath the blond regained before, became ragged again, but this time in excitement and anxiety. He fooled around a lot, and was one of the best actors in his generation, people said, but even to Naruto, making out with his best friend was more than a little weird, and he wasn't sure how far he could go in playing along, nor how well their skills could synchronise.

Lips that were subtle and demanding at the same time, finally reached his mouth and the blond came to conclusion that he better let Itachi have his way for as long as he knew what he was doing. Besides, however you looked at it, he was the young, small and submissive one in this _relationship_, ne? That's what people expected.

Itachi's teeth grabbed the lower lip softly and pulled a bit, teasingly. Then after a slight pause, he just plunged in and over, displaying a passion Naruto wouldn't have ever suspected to see. Their air became one, mouths too small and limiting for contact Itachi seemingly aimed for. And that hot tongue invaded his much too personal space with such confidence that Naruto was left almost immobile. It touched his, feigning a war that Naruto didn't start nor noticed starting, and then explored his teeth, which could not be that interesting, right? But sensations were drawing all thoughts out of mind. And then all too suddenly, the moment of hot, weird connection stopped as the young man released his mouth to breathe.

Naruto could only gulp awkwardly and open his eyes half way to mutter "Closet sweet toothed..." to comment on the sweet taste he managed to analyze, amazingly as his mind was blown away, before Itachi's mouth closed on his again, repeating the strange experience that could become a onetime thing or a normal occurrence, depending on the amount of spies and times they found them. One of Itachi's hands found its place on his waist, moving in circling motions which felt strangely natural for it to do. . If that was what the spy waited for, then he finally got the show he wanted to see.

The jounin pulled away again to nuzzle the side of Naruto's face in the show of unseen affection and casually bit the blond's ear, "You have to respond, you know? Hmm , by the way, did you eat ramen?" to hide his lips moving again, and to make a smart mocking reply, apparently. If Itachi was pretending, and he did, then he was an amazing actor as well. How was it possible? Did it imply that his stoic, intimidating and cold personality was a front as well? The thought was making Naruto furious inside, and he grabbed Itachi's hair with his fingers quite fiercely, if a frown on Uchiha heir's face, that could be interpreted in several ways, was any indication. Then without too much thinking he just attacked Itachi's mouth with the passion of similar degree displayed by his friend, but his was fuelled by anger and confusion. And as his hands continued to tug and tongue to fight with Itachi's, he had a next thought of acting stupid, because really, Itachi was a jounin, and of course he was a good actor. Even if he did not flaunt it. Every shinobi was. Naruto just had a temper... and a rushed judgement. One that thankfully, stayed in his chaotic mind most of the time. If one managed to read his thoughts, they'd claim he was crazy.

Kissing though, wasn't bad. Not that he had much experience, but if it was unpleasant, he'd note it to tease Itachi. There wasn't much to tease about though, beside the sweet taste of his friend's... saliva. Did that disturbing thought just went through his mind? Well, Itachi noted that he ate ramen before their training session, so they were even.

Gradually, the passion filled kiss became softer and calmer. There was even tenderness in the way Itachi's palm touched the side of his face and tilted his head a bit higher, giving an angle in which their noses did not get in the way. Itachi's hair, soft and silky in his hands, lost the rubber band from all the tugging and became a messy halo around his head.

At last, when breathing became a necessity, they parted, gulping the air. Their foreheads touched and Naruto noted that cold metal plate of Itachi's headband was smooth and pleasantly cooled his skin.

"Is he gone?" The blond whispered barely moving his lips.

Itachi frowned, concentrating, and then sighed. "Yes."

They continued to lean onto each other's foreheads, calming their breath and wondering if that scene was enough for the spy to make conclusions and not come back.

"I hope you're not thinking of whether or not it was good. Cause it was but it doesn't matter, right? Where did you learn to do it by the way? That girl from your team a year or more ago? I thought that affiliation was fleeting and did not go far. How long are you going to keep your..."

"Naruto." Itachi interrupted the blond's monologue and making a bit of space between them looked down on his friend pointedly. "Was it your first kiss...?"

The boy blinked and his eyes darted about for a moment, before resting on Itachi's again. "No, I mean I kissed before, it's just that this was... this was the first _real_ one." He mumbled with a blush.

The jounin raised a brow. "I thought you dated that... Yamanaka girl."

Naruto blushed even more. "Uh, right, well, whatever we did wasn't that daring, and we didn't see each other for long, she fell in love with Sasuke at first sight and broke up with me. So..."

"Oh..."

Both of them felt awkward.

"well, do you know who it was, or who this spy could work for?" Naruto asked, directing their thoughts elsewhere.

Itachi gave him a look. "Does it matter? Soon whatever this spy saw will be known to everyone interested. We can't change or influence that, so lets' just wait for results."

"Ah. All right then... Um, 'Tachi, how long are you going to keep your hands on me...?"

* * *

**A. N**. Fuuma clan characters come from the Land of Rice Fields Arc.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four**

_I've got another confession to make_

_I'm your fool_

_Everyone's got their chains to break_

_Holding you_

_Were you born to resist, or be abused?_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_Or are you gone and onto someone new?_

_I needed somewhere to hang my head_

_Without your noose_

_You gave me something that I didn't have_

_But had no use_

_I was too weak to give in_

_Too strong to lose_

_My heart is under arrest again_

_But I'll break loose_

_My head is giving me life or death_

_But I can't choose_

_I swear I'll never give in_

_I refuse_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_Has someone taken your faith?_

_It's real, the pain you feel_

_You trust, you must confess_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_Has someone taken your faith?_

_It's real, the pain you feel_

_The life, the love_

_You'd die to heal_

_The hope that starts_

_The broken hearts_

_You trust, you must confess_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_I've got another confession my friend_

_I'm no fool_

_I'm getting tired of starting again_

_Somewhere new_

_Were you born to resist, or be abused?_

_I swear I'll never give in, I refuse_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

_Has someone taken your faith?_

_It's real, the pain you feel_

_You trust, you must confess_

_Is someone getting the best_

_The best, the best, the best of you?_

'**Best Of You'** by Foo Fighters, lyrics

* * *

Three months later

Watching and observing Naruto wasn't something that usually entertained Itachi. He didn't find staring at the blond interesting or worth his time. But when said blond stared at someone else, that was a wholly different matter.

They waited by the Hokage building for Sasuke, wasting time doing nothing but sitting on the bench and gaping at the passers-by. Their brother had a report to make or some other business, and had promised to be quick. But he was most probably waiting in a mile line, because after half an hour had passed he still was inside.

The weather was pleasant, warm, promising; the sun was high in the sky, heating the air and reminiscent of the name of Fire. People hurried around, children played ninja using funny wooden tools, and everything was perfect if it wasn't for one small detail.

All this time, Naruto stared at the girl some distance away that was obviously gossiping with some other girl about _girl_ things. Itachi did not know their names nor the subject of discussion. And truly, he didn't _want_ to know. His friend though, who had a short attention span in general, kept his eyes glued to the girl as if he had given a vow to do so. It was an unsettling picture. For some reason, there were twists in Itachi's stomach, thinking of the blond falling in love with someone. They didn't discuss the possibility, did they? They just made a plan to pretend to be together, and break up using the right, suitable moment, like an appearance of a girlfriend Itachi would find, or Uchiha clan forgetting about arranging a marriage, whatever came first. Through it all, it never came to Itachi's mind that Naruto might find someone as well, and have a reason to sever the deal. Seeing him now, looking at some random girl with such intensity, made Itachi realize that as much as a relationship with the blond limited him at the current moment, it did not mean that he was the only one. Even if Naruto wanted to approach that girl and introduce himself, ask her for a date in any manner, he couldn't do so for as long as he was officially in a relationship with Itachi. Not to mention the little fact that every girl would be surprised about his interest in females, because everyone now believed that the both of them were into males. Naruto's reputation was as crushed as his own, if not worse.

"Seeing something you like?" Itachi asked quietly, after checking if anyone was around, twice.

"Huh?" The blond asked, not tearing his eyes away from the girl. His dumb expression would look comical to Itachi if it wasn't for the unease and a strange bitter feeling at the thought of the blond being attracted to anyone.

"That girl, you stare, not tactful of you, really, Naruto. Have you fallen in love at first sight?" The young man whispered teasingly. He forced a small, charming smile that was reserved for very few people.

A shame that Naruto did not turn to see it.

It hurt Itachi's feelings a bit, even.

"Oh.. no." The boy replied, _still_ staring.

What did he see that was so interesting? That girl was just like every other. Well, maybe she tried gathering attention by putting on a red dress... But Itachi knew that Naruto did not fall for tricks like that. There must be more to it.

"No?" He inquired, prompting for details.

"...Her hair." The boy mumbled and bit his lip, as if he was deeply lost in thought. His eyes inspected the girl in a way Itachi expected him to study an enemy or a potential ally, appreciatively, admiringly, measuring. It was truly a disturbing sight for the young man, who wasn't a witness to such behaviour yet.

"I hate the pink colour." Naruto continued, contemplatively.

Itachi blinked and turned his gaze back to the girl, and in fact, the girl _did_ have pink hair. He didn't give it much thought as there were people around the world with blue, green, red and ...yellow hair. But most importantly, the boy said that he _hated_ this colour, why _gape_, then?

"There's nothing special about it." The jounin spoke, calmly. Waiting for the blond to correct him.

"There is. It's unnatural. I thought... that she was pranked or something." Here Naruto frowned, in remembrance. He must've met her before and felt sorry about her predicament, or knowing the blond, felt down that it wasn't his idea.

Itachi snorted, slightly, having seen enough to know that all unnatural colours could be natural.

The boy ignored the undignified reaction. "But... I realize that her pigment must be real. I don't see any roots, her brows are of the same, if slightly darker, colour. And I... I just can't understand how can anyone have such a horrible colour on their head and look good. Well, as good as one can look while having PINK on their head."

Oddly, Itachi was relieved to hear that. He even had an urge to laugh at Naruto's antics and quirks. He didn't like pink and was shocked it did not look so horrible? Naruto made a discovery!

"You're impossible." Itachi whispered, smiling to himself.

The blond looked at him as if his friend had revealed his biggest secret to the whole world, a grimace and a pout included.

xxx

"_Did you speak with Fugaku-san yet? I'd have expected him to crack by now." Naruto mumbled the last part, knowing that the man was having a mental trauma of sorts, but unable to not wonder about his behaviour. _

"_He avoids me at all cost. Doesn't speak to me, doesn't go where I go. And that includes you too. He doesn't let others speak our names in his presence." Itachi replied, smirking slightly. He looked pleased that his father was suffering. _

_Naruto felt that this was a revenge long time due, and he couldn't deny that their wicked actions satisfied his mischievous nature. "Promise me you'll be very convincing of our eternal love." The blond grabbed his friend's hand in his own and pressed it to his chest in a parody of a romantic scene or the like._

"_You can count on it." The young man replied with a sweet smile that definitely looked out of place on his face, which confirmed the theory that kind and smiling Itachi was more intimidating than an angry one._

Remembering that, Itachi realized that facing his father and convincing him about anything was much harder in reality than it seemed. Fugaku's private room, with a desk and shelves filled with scrolls of different nature, was filled with tension and unease as both of the jounin faced each other in a seemingly formal way.

His father sat in a chair by the desk, his elbows were placed on it and his fingers were laced, to avoid showing weaknesses. The man's face was stern and gloomy, while the bags under his eyes revealed that he hadn't had much sleep lately. Lips pressed tightly to stay in one neutral line, Fugaku spoke with his orbs first, expressing how much he'd like to engage his son in an all out fight, but remained civil thanks to his morals, mental strength and dignity.

Itachi was on the other side of the said desk, occupying a similar chair, calmly, confidently, showing that he was not afraid and did not plan to give in to the man's demands. For a greater impression, he was leaning back and crossing his legs. Such a position in their formal meeting was almost unthinkable, but Itachi did not care. He wouldn't give the man more power and visible influence over him than he already had.

"I don't understand you. It's for your own good as well. Don't you see that sooner or later that _fascination_ you have with the boy will pass, and you'll be faced with the situation we have today? What's the difference between stopping this affiliation now and breaking it later? It will happen anyway." The man spoke, confused and tired of saying the same thing over and over.

"The difference is that I want it to _continue_. And if I want it to stop, then I want it to happen on my own terms, not because this clan needs me to have a wife and children." The young man replied, wondering if the elders had pressured his father, afraid of Itachi who gained freedom. Freedom that let him have missions beyond the border of the country, freedom that let him speak his mind, be loyal to his friends and teammates, and ...see one crazy blond as well as claim they were in love. ...

His father might've been forced to do what was better for the clan, not necessarily better for his children...

"If you continue this you'd be declaring war against the rules of this family! What do you hope to achieve? To be disowned?" Seemed like Fugaku could not comprehend that at this point Itachi wasn't afraid of his family at all.

"Disowned? Impossible." Itachi smiled softly, a gesture that he was sure his father wasn't too familiar with. "My record is perfect. I'm a jounin and if it wasn't for my connection to Naruto I'd be an _elite_ jounin or an anbu captain. I did not commit a crime nor have I gone mad. And even if Uchiha clan _had_ a reason to disown me, our family would not do it. What for? To lose such a powerful member, let me give my loyalty to someone else?"

His father widened his eyes at the obvious threat in the last line. All of it was obvious, of course, but it seemed the man had not expected Itachi to be so straightforward about it. His breathing laboured and he hid his face behind his palms. He managed to do it without looking desperate, but looking tired. "Why don't you do the wise thing and keep him as a lover on the side, then?"

Itachi grimaced. "I'm not that kind of a person."

Fugaku sighed. His face was red but he no longer looked like he'd attack his son physically. Still, the whirls in his mind continued to turn as he looked for a way to convince Itachi about marrying.

It seemed the man would not give up until a harsh blow was delivered.

"You forget that I have much to thank Naruto for." Itachi started and saw the man frown and tighten his jaw muscles, as if he wanted to block the words. "I'd never have as large chakra reserves or perfect health if it wasn't for the contract. In fact, medics believe I'd be suffering from constant chakra exhaustion, weak diaphragm, and gradual ceasing of my main organs' functioning... Frankly speaking, I'd be dead. Years before, my disease was a reason I relied on genjutsu and strategy as a ninja. Today even the Hokage believes I can fight opponents like Hatake Kakashi on an equal level. If it wasn't for Naruto and the Sandaime, we wouldn't even have this conversation, and possibly, you wouldn't have any marriage plans until Sasuke turned eighteen."

"But we're having this conversation, we're thankful to them, yes, and you're here, alive and healthy, and I want you to take _advantage_ of this!" the man spoke, leaning forward emotionally at the end of his speech.

"And I do." Itachi answered, stood up and left without another word. He didn't know if he had managed to pull his father over to his side, or if he only managed to frustrate the man further. He spoke his mind, presented his own view and showed that he did not plan to back down. Itachi wondered if he'd have to face the elders of the clan after that. The thought wasn't making him happy.

xxx

That afternoon, as they went home from bath houses, Itachi was especially demanding.

They met as usual these days, for a 'date' to grate on people's nerves and to show Sasuke that they agreed with his argument. There was some tension though, because Fugaku finally found courage to speak with his oldest son and even if they did not fight using devastating jutsu, the meeting left Itachi anxious and extremely restless. He did an amazing job of hiding it by lazing in a bathtub and even gossiping with Naruto about recent events in the village, _other_ than their own relationship. For example Sarutobi Asuma stalking Yuhi Kurenai, attacking her with attention and affection, or Mizuki, an academy instructor that tried to steal the forbidden scroll for Orochimaru. Naruto though, could see that his friend wasn't relaxed at all, he could hear it as well. When Itachi was calm, resting and lazing around, he was silent most of the time. Like he preferred the company of his own thoughts, or would rather speak with actions than words. It was hard to understand, or to explain, but the blond knew the difference. From bits of conversation Itachi let slip, to him and the whole village as there were people eavesdropping, he gathered that Fugaku was still against them, while having the future of the clan as a priority. The concept was strange to Naruto. How can one care about their family and its future while at the same time threaten and deny its members? Anyway, Itachi admitted that he would wait and see, instead of making hollow plans. That did not sit well with the blond, who was used to acting before his enemy got the upper hand. Not willing to fight with Itachi over it, though, he decided to do something himself, or ask Sasuke for additional help.

The bath house was a good idea, it calmed his friend a bit, but Itachi was still too anxious, in Naruto's opinion. He was polite and full of grace, but his eyes said that he'd rather 'katon' his surroundings and use a bloody way out of the mess. It looked like he _wanted_ his father to engage into a _physical_ argument and exchange the damaging jutsus. Provoking the man did not work, and he had to fight with words, instead, which left the young man eager for some action. Naruto thought that he could fix the problem and suggest they visit a training ground to train some draining techniques. He smiled at his smart idea and pulled Itachi into the small dark alley to say what he had on his mind and why. It was a shortcut to the closest training ground that could be possibly vacated.

Itachi interpreted his actions differently, and before he could speak, his friend was shoving him onto the wall and being _especially_ demanding, as Naruto put it later. The kissing was full of biting, pushing and pressing. ...The red mark that was sure to stay on his collarbone hurt and tingled with pleasure at the same time, surprisingly. He was ashamed of whatever noise he made while Itachi put it there.

The viciousness each time his body was attacked wasn't what Naruto had expected to deal with. Itachi did not give him a chance to retaliate or respond, as few times before, but on the contrary, dominated every move and every bite, kissing Naruto like he wanted to extract all rage and annoyance in one go. He used so much force that the blond was sure his mouth would swell and turn red from abuse. It hurt but strangely, made his heartbeat go faster, gave him weird sensations to his stomach and prompted him to simply give in to the guy that looked like he needed it. It wasn't the draining session he had in mind, no matter how counterproductive to bathing it was, but if it worked for Itachi then he had no choice at the moment but to oblige.

Said young man must've noticed that he let him have his way, when he was threading his fingers into the brunet's hair and opening his mouth wider, and beside viciousness, Itachi also showed eagerness with which he explored Naruto's skin and cavern. His hands touched every inch of Naruto's hips, sides and back, going under the dark orange shirt. His hands were hot. And in all of his moves was an aggression that showed Itachi in a new light. His mouth found interesting even Naruto's chin, biting it and then giving attention to the blond's jaw. Under such assault Naruto could not hold little noises and moans inside. He felt like their breathing was synchronised, hearts beating to one rhythm. It was beyond what they did and displayed before, and the blond wondered if Itachi did this because they were watched, or because he simply wanted and needed to. The thought alone made him flush like never before ...and then he felt Itachi cross the line that was unsaid and invisible. His hands went to Naruto's thighs and stroked the surface, crumpling the fabric of his pants, and then effortlessly lifted him off the ground, letting the blond's legs hang on the sides of his own body as he pressed it closer.

Wordless panic overwhelmed Naruto's mind as he realized that either his friend was improvising, or forgot that they were pretending.

And he couldn't simply punch Itachi in the face, because, still, they were watched, and ending the 'scene' in an abrupt manner, again, was counterproductive.

The wetness of the kissing, their breathing that became impossibly loud in his ears and the feeling of Itachi's body so close, the whole _intimacy_ of it caused the blond to panic even more. He tried to make a subtle, little denying noise come out of his throat, but it wasn't caught by the eager, mind lost bugger. _What to do_? How could he stop Itachi without compromising their act? He was sure that his friend was like a beast at that moment, and if he tried to struggle, Itachi would show how dominant he could be. Also, it was he who had given in without fighting.

_My God, Oh my God, no-no-no..._ Naruto thought as he felt Itachi start _moving_ against him and as usual, before weighing his options, he just did the first thing that came to mind. He grabbed a handful of his friend's hair and forcefully tugged back, away from himself, and then bit his friend in the closest part of his body, the base of Itachi's neck, and bit so hard that he felt blood, metallic and salty, enter his mouth.

His sharp teeth continued to sink into the skin, quite painfully, the blond was sure. Painfully enough for the jounin to get back to his senses, he hoped.

And several seconds later, it worked, because Itachi did not attack him but tried to let go. Naruto stopped that action by tugging the young man's hair back and closer and biting even deeper. He felt Itachi cease the stupid reaction and keep the hold of his thighs _so disturbing_ even as his hands trembled quite violently. His ragged breathing became worse and he hid his face in Naruto's shoulder. the young man was unsettled about his own actions and looked like he didn't know what to do. In the meantime, Naruto brought his teeth out of the wound and licked it, hoping that there wasn't too much blood drawn. He didn't want to injure his friend, just wake him. Well, it worked, at least. He wasn't sure how long they could stay like this without drawing suspicion, but he also knew that Itachi needed a moment to gather himself. _And he'd better do it quickly_, Naruto thought, noticing that Itachi's whole body was slightly shaking now.

Somehow Naruto just knew that the stress of family, marriage and the pretending ordeal had got to his friend at last. He had snapped, in his own way, and now was ashamed and scared. Not of the blond, of course, but if Naruto had to guess, of himself.

He didn't know what to do so he just stroked Itachi's head and threaded his fingers into dark hair, combing, pulling and as he hoped, calming his friend.

Seconds passed as if it were minutes or hours, but at last, the young man tensed, gathered himself and gently let Naruto stand on his own two feet. He avoided looking into his eyes, though.

...And still did that for two days until the blond simply punched him for being stupid.

XXX

_Some weeks later_

Sasuke was tapping his foot in a very familiar manner, while sitting in a chair and showing that he'd rather be elsewhere. Hatake Kakashi was standing, leaning on the wall, glaring and obviously waiting for words to fall. The man might have only one eye, but it was expressive enough to make a lasting impression. His arms were sternly crossed.

The quiet afternoon free of spies, stress and thoughts of Uchiha clan was something that Itachi had wanted for days. An archive part of the library, a private room, a company of scrolls, and a book for notes was a perfect day off for the young man. He didn't plan to see anyone, not even the blond menace. And here Sasuke dared to give him an abrupt visit, in the company of his jounin captain no less. If the boy came alone it'd have been easier to get rid of him with a good choice of words and an evil stare. But the older man wouldn't have come without a good reason, and wouldn't leave without one too. Itachi was agitated even before they greeted each other.

Was there ever gonna be a moment of rest? No one had cared what Itachi did or studied, where he went and what missions he got until the whole marriage mess. Now his life and private time was everyone's business!

Behaving like he had an authority or permission to interrogate him, Kakashi kept his head raised high, with a look that said he did not approve of any action Itachi took.

Locked in the stare with one intimidating eye, the young man thought that the jounin was never going to speak unless he was addressed. The silence, tense and heavy, worked on the nerves of all present, but only Kakashi seemed stubborn enough to keep it present, possibly believing that his psyche was stronger and he'd have an advantage. Sasuke gave up and tapped his foot, showing that he wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Hatake-san?" Itachi finally asked, keeping his tone soft and silky. It was obvious Sasuke wasn't present of his own free will, rather forced by his teacher to lead him to Itachi and stay, for the safety of one them or as a witness.

"I wish to know what miracle treat, promise or threat you used to force Naruto into a relationship with you, or what blackmail or justification _Naruto_ used for that. And if you say that one of you lost a bet I'd never believe it. It wouldn't last for as long as it has."

The young man raised a brow and shifted to take a comfortable position in his seat by the desk. "None of us was forced into anything. Is it really so hard to believe that we are simply attracted to each other?"

Sasuke was studying the shelf of books and folders at this point. His eyes ran over the titles, not really caring about those but keeping himself busy with something. All that attitude pointed out that he would not help his captain in questioning nor support Itachi in defence. That both pleased and disappointed the young man.

Hatake looked down at Itachi with a stare that said he wasn't an idiot to believe that claim. He'd observed them for weeks, waiting for the show to stop and masks to drop down, but his student continued to play the role, avoiding the jounin's questions and it worried Kakashi more than anything. He thought that Naruto trusted him with something as important as that, but the blond insisted that the matter was too private. It wouldn't be so disquieting and perturbing too, if Naruto was of age. The pair of 'lovers' should've realized that shinobi population was alarmed and outraged. Not only Uchiha clan was against their relationship, but many other families and authorities as well, Kakashi himself included. He was Naruto's teacher, captain and overall responsible for the boy as much as his guardians. The thought that his student was seriously seeing someone who was five years older, engaging in possible sexual activities, and with a _male_, was disturbing. He'd never expected such a thing from Naruto, and especially not from Itachi, a responsible and intelligent young man. But before Kakashi could be disappointed with them, he had to go through the stage of being appalled. "Try again." The man said through mask covered, hidden gritted teeth.

Dark eyes turned red, spinning with incredible speed; Itachi glared at the older man for intruding into such a private matter. "I will never hurt Naruto, if that is your concern. We fully trust and respect each other. That said, please refrain from further questioning me and my brother about the issue."

Sasuke sighed in relief and stood, believing that it was the end of discussion. The chuunin gazed at his captain. "Are we done in here?"

"No." Kakashi replied stubbornly.

"Yes." Itachi voiced firmly, opposing the man.

"I'm not satisfied with your answers." Kakashi continued and stepped away from the wall. He turned to his student. "Could you leave us alone for a moment, Sasuke?"

The boy shook his head. "No-no-no, don't even think of it. Interrogation is over, sensei. Let's go back."

Seeing irritation and hesitation regarding his next action in Kakashi, Itachi stood as well. "If you don't leave on your own, I will have to call the guards. This is a public place so I wouldn't like to use violence." The young man spoke, implying that if circumstances and place were different, their meeting would've had a different result. He resolutely walked to the door and opened it for the uninvited guests. "If you'd be so kind as to let me go back to my research?"

The older man walked to the door and Sasuke gave his brother an apologetic smile. Itachi's responsive gaze was forgiving but silent. He waited for the older jounin to leave, but the man forcefully pushed the door closed without going out. His action was resolute, an unyielding response to Itachi's own.

Confused and startled, Sasuke looked from one jounin to the other, as once more, they exchanged the meaningful stares. None of them planned to back down.

The boy huffed and crossed his arms, turning his head away in an action that spoke that he perceived the present adults like a pair of toddlers.

"Let us be realistic, Itachi. People in this village are either ignoring the situation, or they're against it. I'm not telling you to stop the nonsense. I don't even know why the two of you started it. But both of you are in deep, serious trouble, and I don't believe anything to be worth it." Kakashi said gently, approaching the subject in a softer, more polite manner.

Seeing this side of Kakashi's thinking and knowing that the man could not be fooled, Itachi wondered if actually including the man in the secret wasn't wiser. Staying tight lipped about the thing did not give them support nor understanding from others. At the moment Sasuke was the only person who knew about them pretending. Unwillingly, hesitantly, the boy helped, covering for them and sharing his own ideas. If there was someone else, someone with a weighting word, influence, who could speak up for them, it would be easier. But there was no guarantee that the man would accept their reasoning. Hatake could compromise with them just as well. The man cared for the blond far more than he cared about Itachi's affairs. If he knew what their show was about, he'd most probably be opposing their actions. Naruto would reject his captain's logic, though, and continue with the first plan. Itachi knew his friend well enough to know that, and was ashamed to _expect_ that sort of behaviour. He simply knew that the blond would be on his side.

"You're insulting my morals and intelligence, Kakashi-san." Itachi's tone was calm, cold and offended.

The gray haired man narrowed his eye. "Well, you're insulting mine."

Still standing beside them, Sasuke openly rolled his eyes.

Another pause fell, filled with tension. Another exchange of glares and the resumed tapping of Sasuke's foot.

"All right," Itachi tried, "how do you propose we resolve it?"

Kakashi raised a brow, and then coughed into a palm of his hand, apparently not ready to answer that question.

Itachi looked at the man from up to down, making Kakashi feel further inadequate. He didn't know how to answer that, because it didn't look like Itachi planned to reveal the history behind the current tale. And without the history behind it all, he couldn't take sides. Simply saying that he'd stand by Naruto no matter what, was foolish, because God knows how many stupid, embarrassing situations the boy managed to involve himself in and fixing the mess might fall on Kakashi's shoulders, which entailed the severe punishment for pranking and _that_, in no way meant that he stood on Naruto's side. Proclaiming that he perceived the pair as reckless mindless fools would not help either. He was treated like an outsider already, and any wrong word meant being labelled as an enemy, and that was a no-no in Kakashi's book. He simply didn't know what to do. Staying neutral did not help. Shinobi community wanted his opinion on the matter and questioned his stance. In other people's minds he was aware of everything, and his quiet attitude was for the benefit of the scandalous duo. Even Guy approached him with shameless questions, when he wanted the man's advice in turn no less. It was the biggest social mess in years he was a witness to.

"Let us be honest with each other." The older man spoke at last, reluctantly. "I would do many, many things for Naruto. I'd protect him fiercely, from enemies, from friends if there's a need to. He's my student, and much more. That said, I don't want him to be involved in ridiculous political games. He's not suited for that. Can you convince me that your entire act is harmless? That there will be no serious repercussions?"

Itachi sighed softly. "Depends on what you consider to be 'serious repercussions'."

Sasuke looked at his older brother like he wanted to bang his head on a hard surface. Preferably a wall. Kakashi on the other hand, felt like he walked in circles.

Every male in a room gathered their wits and the older jounin opened his mouth to continue the argument, but abruptly, the door opened and a girl only two of the present shinobi recognized ran in.

"Sasame?" Kakashi asked, gazing at the newcomer in surprise.

"Kakashi-san, Sasuke-kun!" She greeted them, panting and leaning on her knees to regain her breath.

Itachi looked down at the girl that intruded onto their private talk. She was young, had a ninja build, big brown eyes and honey coloured hair . (A.N. remember that girl from the Uchiha party? The one that flirted with Sasuke...)

She had a lavender dress over black, tight pants. Her blue sandals were small, the jounin noted, wondering that small feet were somewhat rare. Itachi recognized her from the gathering with the Fuuma clan. She must be a member. Why did she seek them, then?

"What's the matter?" The grey haired man asked, inspecting her dishevelled appearance.

"Ah, ...eh, you see..." She stuttered and glanced at Itachi with some visible dose of fear, and then at Sasuke and blushed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes dramatically. "Will you gather your thoughts? Say what you came to say and bye."

"That was tactless." His captain voiced, raising the brow at his student. Then he turned to the girl. "You obviously ran fast to reach us, it must be urgent. But no one knows of our whereabouts, how did you find us?"

The girl flushed even worse. "Um, there are shifts and information exchanged between the girls that are part of a club of sorts, you see." Sasame replied, looking down at the floor.

"Fan girls." Sasuke snorted. The girl flushed, trembled and slowly closed the door behind her. Then she leaned on the hard surface with her back, still keeping her eyes down in shame and submission.

"Please let me speak and forget that you heard it from me." Sasame mumbled quietly, which made shinobi tense and place their attention on her. "I.. I eavesdropped accidentally on someone in my family. I don't know who that was, I was so scared I didn't even recognize the voice. ...Somebody wants to attack you, Itachi-san, you or your... boyfriend. I think it's about revenge."

The young man's posture turned rigid and gaze ice cold. "When."

The scared girl opened and closed her mouth several times. "...I don't know. Maybe today, even. I heard them yesterday."

xxx

As the group walked through the busy streets of Konoha, Itachi had only one relief, it was the knowledge that Naruto wasn't injured. Which meant that he wasn't attacked either. Otherwise, the jounin would have known exactly where the wounds were and how serious the blond's condition was.

They did not let Sasame go back home, and waited for her to remember any details regarding the person she had overheard speak the day before. At the same time, Sasuke led them to the ramen stand where Naruto ate at least once a day nowadays, secretly enjoying his new favourite dish. They expected to find traces leading to the blond's whereabouts in there.

It was the perfect day for cornering them, Itachi mused. Whenever he and Naruto had free time, they spent it together now, to keep up the appearances, but this time they decided to rest in private a bit. The blond had some techniques planned for testing, while Itachi himself looked for a loophole in laws of marriage contracts that concerned the clans of the Leaf village. This was the first time in weeks they were apart from each other and alone, and it results in this. He shook his head. If they were keeping up with the usual schedule, the attacker would've thought twice before realizing the plan. Why was it always Naruto? Why didn't he see enemies grouping on _him_? That wasn't nice. The thought that some fan girls could be involved made him see red. Jealous women and their mindless, desperate acts...

Sasuke controlled the trembling of his hands that appeared at the mere thought that his brother was a target for someone inside the village. It did not matter that the clan used to be on the enemy side, that their marriage arrangement was a fiasco, what mattered was that they became a part of Leaf and executing revenge on the blond was reminding him of the Ebisu case a bit too much. He couldn't understand how Itachi and Kakashi could be so calm about it. His older brother did not even comment when they moved in direction of the ramen stand, just followed the lead and let his eyes study their surroundings, as if the answer was somewhere around them. Kakashi, at least, summoned ninken for the search and sent Pakkun to the training ground in case the blond was still there. He didn't doubt that Naruto was smart and strong enough to fight off a group of opponents, but even he had his limits and weaknesses; finding him _before_ anything happened was a priority.

The smell of noodles reached them before the stand was in sight, and Sasuke dearly hoped that he'd find the blond inside, who'd stare at their group like they were stupid and claim he was fine. That's the way it should be, after all. Sasuke started to go faster, ahead of the rest. His heart thumped with ridiculous hope. And then he heard a gasp behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see who made the sound. The chuunin stopped mid step at seeing the stiff, unfocused form of his older brother. "Hey... Itachi?"

The young man did not react to being called and a deep frown marred his face instead. He shifted, cringed and started walking on the right off their path. His moves were oddly rigid, though. "What's happened, w-where are you going?" Sasuke asked, confused.

Itachi did not answer but continued to make stiff steps toward unknown destination, with others staring after him. At that moment Kakashi whirled around and caught Sasame's wrist, the girl tried to slip away while everyone was distracted. The grey haired jounin gave her a meaningful glare.

"I just wanted to help, let me go!" The kunoichi wriggled, trying to free herself from the man's hold.

"We're protecting you now, stupid girl. Once your family realizes you betrayed them, you'd be in danger." Kakashi spoke in a dry tone. He turned to his ninken, "Did you catch Naruto's trail?"

The dogs answered affirmatively and went ahead of Itachi, who stumbled and was kneeling on the ground in overly bent position. Sasuke was beside him, frantic with worry and puzzlement, and kept on asking what the hell was happening. Kakashi analyzed the situation and pulled Sasame to the Uchiha brothers. "Sasuke, you and Fuuma-san will stay here with Itachi, you can't help him much but make sure he doesn't hurt himself. I'll go and find Naruto, he seems to be in trouble." The man immediately started to follow his pets.

"What do you mean Naruto's in trouble? Itachi's just collapsed don't you see!" The dark haired boy shouted after the man almost hysterically. He was shocked and desperate. Sasuke thought that they should take Itachi to the hospital this minute, but the jounin just ignored his brother's condition completely. Eyes wide, face pale, Sasuke tore his gaze away from Kakashi's retreating back and grabbed his brother's shoulders. "What's going on? What the heck is wrong with you?" Sasuke saw bruises forming on Itachi's skin right under his eyes, without any hits, punches or weapons involved.

"Not... me..." The young man breathed out, shaking with strain.

Sasame crept closer, hands covering half of her face fearfully. "He needs medical attention!"

"I can see that!" Sasuke barked out and tried to lift his brother to take him to the medics, but for some reason, Itachi violently shrugged him off. "Don't move, dammit!"

xxx

Having finished the main part of his training session, the blond had decided to get the bowl of delicious ramen for lunch, instead of bothering his guardians and reaching the district. The old man and his daughter that owned the stand were kind, always smiling and served the dish that was almost as delicious as his mom's cooking. The smell alone captured his heart long before he had a taste. Wonderful, delicious, evil food.

Naruto noted that the place wasn't as popular as it deserved to be, as there weren't lot of customers. The general opinion that noodles were not healthy could be a major reason behind that. As he contemplated it, someone entered and sat on the stool beside him. A glance at the side almost made him sputter, and Naruto gulped, actually feeling the taste of ramen turning bitter. Whatever appetite he had, was gone, and an urge to go back to the training ground and pound into something came back tenfold. For on the right, dressed in an unassuming light blue kimono, and looking at him with innocence and shyness, was none other than Koto-demon. His tongue, no, his mind even, refused to add hime to her name as it seemed to be beyond her to ever reach the meaning of it. She didn't deserve to be called a princess. Her presence though, was making him suspicious. Naruto put the chopsticks aside, wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned on the stool to face her.

"What can I do for you, Koto-san?"

Her expression faltered a bit. "It's Kotohime, Naruto-san." She put the subtle smile on.

The blond grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I've never been good with names..."

"It's alright, I... I wanted to speak with you, privately." The girl sounded reluctant and unsure.

As the chuunin blinked and kept a neutral face, he wondered what sort of trap that mad female had prepared for him. He'd never believe she simply wanted to talk. It wasn't obvious but they hated each other's guts. Since the incident where she tried to seduce Jiraiya and Kakashi, on the mission investigating Orochimaru's connection to the Rice Country, he developed a dislike for the girl that had no self respect but had _wide_ ambitions. She, on the other hand, could not tolerate his behaviour towards her and his ability to discard her charms, so they became silent, distant enemies. Add to that the whole fiancée business fiasco and his involvement in that, and their relationship grew claws and teeth. "Uh, ok. What do you want to talk about?"

She sighed softly, like a patient, kind and polite heiress. "Privately." She repeated, emphasising the word.

* * *

**A. N.** The chapter was becoming so long that I had to cut it in half. There is only one chapter left before the end of the story. Thank you for your support so far and all the comments!))))))


	5. Chapter 5

**A. N**. here it is, chapter 5. Sorry for being late, I actually forgot I haven't updated the last part yet.

Have fun.

* * *

Naruto put the chopsticks aside, wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned on the stool to face her.

"What can I do for you, Koto-san?"

Her expression faltered a bit. "It's Kotohime, Naruto-san." She put the subtle smile on.

The blond grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I've never been good with names..."

"It's alright, I... I wanted to speak with you, privately." The girl sounded reluctant and unsure.

As the chuunin blinked and kept a neutral face, he wondered what sort of trap that mad female had prepared for him. He'd never believe she simply wanted to talk. It wasn't obvious but they hated each other's guts. Since the incident where she tried to seduce Jiraiya and Kakashi, on the mission investigating Orochimaru's connection to the Rice Country, he developed a dislike for the girl that had no self respect but had _wide_ ambitions. She, on the other hand, could not tolerate his behaviour towards her and his ability to discard her charms, so they became silent, distant enemies. Add to that the whole fiancée business fiasco and his involvement in that, and their relationship grew claws and teeth. "Uh, ok. What do you want to talk about?"

She sighed softly, like a patient, kind and polite heiress. "Privately." She repeated, emphasising the word.

Naruto made a stupid face and nodded. _Stupid woman, cannot get the hint I don't wanna go anywhere to have a private conversation with her? _He slurped the rest of the bowl without any manners, pointedly ignoring that he was in the company of the girl and put the money on the counter. He stood up and when Koto stood as well, he motioned with his hand for her to lead the way, gave a quiet thanks to the stand owners and followed the bitch outside. _Well, whatever she wants and whatever plan she has, I can deal with it. Let her believe I'm not aware of the nature of her visit._

"Where are we going?" He asked casually, placing his hands in pockets. Notably, the girl's hair shone in the light of the day, giving her appearance more appeal. If he didn't know that she could kill with those, he'd be admiring the way strands of her hair moved in slight wind. She had a pretty face, pale skin. Those qualities must've impressed the elders of the Uchiha clan. She was pretty and polite, from a family of lower standing and weaker blood, so, the best of candidates. ...But she was bloody insane.

"There is one place in this village that inspires me. It's quiet, nice. We will not be disturbed, Naruto-san." She answered softly.

The blond frowned at the inspiring part, but decided to humour her and follow the script.

They passed the main streets and districts. Sooner than later, Naruto had an idea where she wanted them to go, and his brows went up to his hairline in surprise. He didn't expect that choice of all the places, but had to admit that the move was smart. No one would look for him in there, and the area had interesting strategical points. They entered the Konoha Cemetery, empty of visitors at the moment. It had been quite awhile since he had been in here. There was only one name he cared about, but he visited them only once, unable to do it again. Well, he wasn't here for reminiscing, Naruto shook his head and paid attention to the failed fiancée. She walked a bit deeper among the tombs and statues and stopped.

He stopped several steps behind her, paying attention to every twitch and turn of her body. "A cemetery? Are we visiting someone?" He asked with a very subtle, barely heard mocking tone.

She turned around with a flourish, intentionally, most probably, and made a sad face. "I know it might seem awkward, but I want to apologize."

He didn't expect her to say that. He didn't believe her either. "For what?" He asked dumbly, pretending to be oblivious.

Koto looked down at her feet. "I realized that my attitude toward you and Itachi-san was unacceptable, I realized it too late, I admit, but I'd like to apologize still. I was trying to seduce him knowing that he already was in a relationship with you. It was, awful of me, and you had to tolerate my approaching him without your consent." Her voice was sincere, a bit too much, for a woman that chased his man, the blond observed.

"Ok, I, uh... accept your apologies. Is that all?" Naruto spoke, trying to keep his eyes from dancing around in search of the hidden trap.

The pretty girl shifted a bit in place and then raised her eyes to look at him. "I still cannot comprehend what he sees in you. You don't have the charm, manners, grace nor the intelligence worthy of him."

_Ah, here's the honest speech_. "Yeah, must see something else in me." The boy replied a bit cheekily. He knew that if there was anything Itachi saw in him it was exactly his graceless manners and free attitude.

Koto didn't look like she accepted the answer and scowled, revealing the expression that suited her far better than all the princess stuff, now, if only her dress was as red as the glint in her eyes...

"That is all I wanted to speak of." She huffed, gathered her dignity and started to walk away.

"Do you want me to accompany you on the way into the village?" The blond asked, politely but without any warmth.

"No." She bit out, passing him without a glance. He shrugged and looked around while hearing her walk away. The cemetery was quiet, bathed in the afternoon light. It was beautiful and eerie at the same time. He frowned, trying to get the point of that girl leading him to this place. Making an apology suited the girl that was ashamed of her actions, was afraid to speak in the presence of others, but Naruto knew better than to believe Koto was that kind of person.

A shimmer in the air around him put him on guard and before he knew it, his body was surrounded by webs. Spider webs? That's familiar...

He made a step back and bent to avoid the close proximity of the stings, but all of the sudden, those moved too fast and coiled around his body, restraining his movements.

At that moment, a guy he recognized from a past encounter emerged from behind a bigger grave structure, and smirked at the blond with satisfaction. Bald head, wide brows, a scar over the right eye, and dark skin. _What a sight_, Naruto thought. The enemy walked closer. "Caught in the web. Didn't think you'd fall for it that easily." The guy spoke.

Naruto tried to move a bit but found the threads to be too tight. "Would you mind releasing me... ? Sorry, don't remember your name. Must've been insignificant..." His tone was serious and contemplative.

Jigumo, a name the blond actually remembered but decided to grate on the man's nerves, scowled at the remark and spat little ugly spiders Naruto's way. At the sight, the boy paled and automatically tried to move away, that didn't work though, and little dark insects crawled on his body. Instantly, questions popped in Naruto's mind. Were those poisonous? Would they bite? What did he remember from meeting this guy before? What tactic did he use then? Has he developed the new technique? Had he actually waited for Koto to leave so he could attack, were they together in on the scheme?

Meanwhile, a wide grin grew on Jigumo's face as he watched Naruto's desperate attempt to escape. "If you don't remember my name by now, then it's Fuuma Jigumo, blondie. Keep it in mind as you die."

A sharp object hit the side of the scarred guy, abruptly and forcefully, and he lost his concentration, falling to the side on the ground.

"Sorry, I'm a bit too young to die." The voice spoke from above. Jigumo shrugged the doubles from his sight off and glanced up to see the blond. Confused he slowly turned and looked at the blond entangled in his trap, and found that either he was still seeing double, or there were actually two of the blonds.

Seeing his attacker's dilemma, the chuunin rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, an action that dispelled the clone trapped in webs. The last expression on the clone's face was that of relief, it seemed he was glad he was tortured by spiders no longer.

Jigumo moved to grab the blond's leg, but didn't see the other one already move. A hard kick to the stomach stopped his advance, and the second kick stopped all thoughts and intentions. He had never expected the boy to have such strength in one limb. A knee pressed the man's body to the ground, and a hand tightened on his throat as a tip of the blade found its way closer to his neck. Slight drops of sweat started forming on the dark skin.

"I knew there was more to leading me to this place. I'm not stupid. As if I'd follow any enemy of mine without precaution." Naruto laughed a bit, pleased with himself and glad that his prediction proved true. "Before I knock you out and make sure you and your whole clan are in the biggest trouble possible, I'd like to confirm the motive behind your attack."

The man sneered and kept quiet. Naruto pressed the sharp tip closer. "Well?"

"Fuck you." Jigumo grit through clenched teeth.

"Bad answer." The blond replied and squeezed the throat in his hand. He was sure that if he pressured the guy enough, he'd give in and spill something useful, Koto's involvement, for example. Imagination wild, Naruto saw how _Uchiha_ clan reacted to such news. Surely after such an act they'd sever any deals with Fuuma clan! He was adopted into the family and ambushing him for any reason was like declaring a war. Whatever fate awaited the clan, it would not be pretty. It's not like he hated them, that Hanzaki guy was funny and cared about his family, and Sasame and few others were actually decent, but if making their life harder released Itachi from the bind and gave Naruto peace, he'd go for it without hesitating.

Jigumo wriggled and thrashed in the tight hold and under the weight of the blond. He had no access to air and his lungs were burning. Naruto loosened his grasp somewhat, afraid that he'd kill the man but not willing to give him any chance to get away.

And then somehow, the guy turned the tables. One moment Naruto was enjoying himself and interrogating the attacker, and the next, he was forcefully thrown into an illusion of sorts. 'Cause from where else could those walls come from? His fall wasn't pleasant and his surroundings lost shape, as colourful, angled walls held him within. Angry, Naruto closed his eyes, focused and stopped his chakra flow, then released the pulse to disrupt the genjutsu, but as he opened the lids a moment later, the thing was still in place. But if it wasn't genjutsu, then what? Confused and puzzled about walls seeming smaller with each second he processed his predicament, he charged the wall with kunai that was still gripped in his hand, only to be rebound from the seemingly unbreakable structure. Shocked and puzzled, he realized that he felt an unusual amount of chakra emanating from the walls, hinting that it was a powerful _ninjutsu_. And then walls were becoming smaller, and smaller... the blond bent as he could no longer stay straightened, and noticed that walls formed a triangle with him trapped within. Another trap? How? He didn't let that guy form any jutsu, unless...

His heart started beating faster, recognizing the danger. He had to get out before it was too late. Improvising, Naruto reached for his pouch and pulled out another knife, then he coated it in a layer of wind chakra to make the edge extra sharp. A little voice in his head said that if the first attempt at breaking the wall did not work, then the second is useless, but he had to try, didn't he? Naruto hit the barrier, noting that the space was now so narrow that he could not accelerate the move. Outwardly scowling and inwardly panicking, the blond repeated the action several times, only to see that the colourful barrier was unbreakable. And it was getting narrower still.

Curling his body further, the boy felt fear reach every fibber of his being as any idea that popped in his panicked mind was discarded. He could not use his usual ninjutsu as the technique would be too weak, could not use the powerful one as seal sequence would take too long to form and if failed, would probably backfire. Replacing himself with anything did not work as the walls were made of chakra, which prevented him from connecting his own chakra with anything outside. Strength and weapons were useless, and he did not have any fuuin tricks! Unless you took the exploding tag into account, but he suspected that using it equalled blowing himself up.

The space inside the cage was so small that Naruto felt the walls press his limbs closer to his torso. His muscles hurt, strained, and bones felt like any more pressure would break them. He was bruising and tightening and was so trapped! Did they actually plan to kill him?

The size of the pyramid like space could not be any smaller, it seemed, but before Naruto knew it, it narrowed again. He screamed in pain as his ankles twisted, his legs no longer fitting in length. _Am I going to die, like this? Smashed by the stupid barrier jutsu? Turned into the pile of meat and bones? Recognized later by clothes?_

His emotions were so messed up, in the mix of fear, pain, hatred and helplessness, that he felt an empty sob escape him. Naruto held his head close to his chest, hoping to keep it from being crashed, though a fleeting thought said that he better let it be crushed before he was tortured to the point of dying.

_They actually aim to kill me..._

The sound of knees snapping right next to his ears was far worse than the actual pain of it. He had his bones break on missions, in training and other stupid situations, but the realization that something else was next, until only his middle was left, hit him like a mental ton of bricks. A burning sensation from his belly said that chakra of the fox was moving out, but the pressure was bigger, and he almost absently wondered if the beast's power was also nothing against that barrier.

_Would I have ever used such a technique on anybody, torturing them and breaking their body? Whoever is using it on me, is that person deriving sadistic pleasure from killing me in this slow, painful way?_

The pumpıng of blood was loud ın hıs ears, and he felt the wall push his skull, bend his spine and crush his elbows.

Ideas and thoughts flew from his mind as only pain was left. The last thing he saw before closing his eyes was the red hue of chakra that instead of pushing the walls of the cage away, burned his skin. Behind the lids, his tear-filled eyes burned. Did he close them permanently? A snap of one elbow, he screamed so hard his throat hurt. Some of those broken bones were out, beyond the protecting layer of skin. The feeling was new, uncomfortable, unsettling. _Don't wanna die, don't wanna die, don't want to!... _

He felt wet, was it sweat covering his deforming body? or blood... The distant feeling of dripping and tiny streams here and there rather gave an idea of blood.

The burning increased, or maybe that was just his imagination. With all the pain and pressure he couldn't tell anymore.

And then another thought hit him.

_If I am a mess of broken bones and a dying body, then Itachi is the same way, wherever he is, whatever he's doing, whoever he's with. Oh Kami, please, don't let him die because of me! It's me in this fucking cage and not him! What if he was with Sasuke? He wanted to spend time with him... They didn't have a lot of time together because of the mess I started..._

The blond cried, realizing that if he was going to the other side, he was inadvertently taking his best friend with him. His feet made a disturbing sound, not mentioning hurting in the way he haven't experienced, and snapped too. This time he screamed inaudibly, just kept his mouth open as no sound came out, and no air moved in. A tiny, conscious part of him felt pity for his self. _Why me, again? What the fuck did I do?_ Another tear that felt like it was hot, burning even, slid down his tense face. He thought he even felt his cheek trembling.

_Bastards, if I could just get out... I'd rip them all apart with __my__ bare hands... All of them... backstabbers... traitors..._

A gleeful laugh filled his ears. But his almost absent mind could not understand where it came from, from beyond the trap? From him, his own mouth, as a result of hysteria? Or from within?

_Come on, die already, it hurts too much... _the blond mentally muttered, tiredly, to himself and gave in to the pain filling him everywhere from the inside out.

xxx

As medics gathered around Itachi's thrashing, curling and screaming body, Sasuke could only watch and clutch his brother's shirt in his hand so tightly, his knuckles turned white. When bones pierced the skin of his limbs, the chuunin tore the young man's shirt to pieces to stop the blood from flowing, and tried setting the bones back in place in any way possible, but Itachi was just wriggling and fighting him, as if not realizing who was beside him.

Sasuke acted automatically, too shocked to be rational, to be thinking. Sasame even tried to help, using what little physical strength she had to keep Itachi from hurting himself, but the jounin continued to writhe and fight whoever came close. Anbu squad and medics quickly appeared on the scene that gathered witnesses and restrained the movements of the tormented, screaming man. Sasuke was pushed aside, useless. The girl that tried to warn them about Naruto was beside him, shaken and speechless, unable to rise from the kneeling position on the ground. Absently, Sasuke noted that her appearance was blood covered, and slowly turning his eyes to his own clothes, saw that those were soaked too. He was so stiff he could barely move, his body did not want to obey. Was it what true shock felt like? They were so useless, helpless now as they could only watch...

Another rasped, hoarse scream pierced the air and Sasuke felt his heart literally clench in responsive pain. How did they hurt his brother? It wasn't possible to break someone's body from afar, without coming in contact with it, unless it was poison or had any sort of chakra involvement. Sasuke's sharingan was active all the time and he looked for the clues, but did not find any! It was surreal.

He was angry that no one spoke of what was happening. Medics just pushed him away and anbu said to let them do their job and stay quiet. He was angry because Kakashi left without a glance back, and he still didn't know if his other, blond brother was safe.

Fighting the stiffness of his body, Sasuke grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her up roughly, unable to accept that he stood still and didn't do anything to act. "I don't know... if you're safe from your family or not, but we better not take any risks." He addressed her and decided to drag her to the district and keep her with someone who would make sure she didn't run nor was attacked in retaliation. That'd take time and keep him occupied while other capable people took care of his brothers. Sasuke moved away from the scene, keeping his gaze on the backs of the crowd of people around his sibling, and at that moment, the crowd was abruptly dispersed, as those closest to Itachi forcefully fell behind on their comrades. He stopped, surprised at the growing commotion and tried to take a step closer instinctively. More shouting and disturbance took place and then his heartbeat quickened and eyes opened widely, because he had an uncanny feeling that whatever mass of chakra was gathering in the centre of the crowd, was malicious, thick and highly dangerous.

Shinobi present started making quick hand signs to communicate with each other and before the chuunin knew it, his older brother, who seemed to be incapacitated moments before, was wildly attacking people surrounding him. His appearance was awful, bloody, torn and gleaming with sick, dark blue mist of chakra that coated his form. He made no words but growling sounds, like a furious beast that was let out of the cage.

He'd never seen him like this. The only person he's ever seen remotely resembling this behaviour was Naruto, and that was when he used the bijuu's power. The chakra was red then, not blue, pupils slated, not spinning with revealed doujutsu, and there were always claws, definitely claws, sharp and just as dangerous as those of a wild animal. Itachi retained his human appearance, but his behaviour was far from it. Whoever tried to get close, seemed to aggravate and provoke him into attacking, while medics cried that he was not to be injured further, as they feared for his physical, not yet healed, state.

Maybe it was stupid, mindless and totally out of character, but Sasuke could not fight the urge to be there for his suffering brother. It did not matter that the young man might be out of his mind and incoherent, the boy left the girl in place and threw himself into the fray of unsettled ninja that could not tame the beast his brother had become.

Not a few seconds later he squished the hurt he felt when Itachi did not recognize him and treated him with the same rage and bestiality as everyone else. Why did it remind him of Naruto so much? And what was the source of this horrific and ridiculous situation anyway?

Itachi really was one of the strongest jounin in the village. He almost screwed the neck of unlucky, masked anbu guy if desperate Sasuke hadn't grabbed his brother in a tight, caging grip. He screamed for Itachi to come back to his senses but the words fell on deaf ears, useless. And the mere feeling of the powerful energy the young man exuded burnt the boy who touched him and left him dizzy and nauseous. He knew that Itachi had lots of chakra reserves, but to actually radiate with such power? He'd never showed anything like this. If anything, many people still believed that the young man was the master of genjutsu, not ninjutsu and taijutsu.

Seeing Itachi like this, unrecognizable, broken, dirty, bloodied and wild was unbearable. Even as he fought, he was swaying on his feet, as if he was the last man standing on the battlefield, fighting the enemy to the last of his breath. Some of his bones and muscles clearly were not mended yet, but the jounin stubbornly stood his ground, incoherent and blind with rage, but capable of delivering damage.

xxx

Kakashi was glad that he had high self control. A cold, emotionless, careless jounin, people said. Those who knew him better could see behind the carefree behaviour, where hid the man that lived past the experiences that moulded him into a soldier. He was human still, of course. He had emotions, he just used the stone exterior so much and for so long, that he was incapable of acting outside of it. At that moment, Kakashi was thankful for it. Imagining that someone was killing his student right that minute somewhere, almost made his heart stop. Seeing Itachi and realizing what his state meant, it was like receiving a punch in the face, and he could not give one back. On the other hand, if it wasn't for Naruto's connection to the Uchiha heir, they wouldn't have known that something was happening to the blond, and possibly, when they found Naruto, it could be too late. But, the jounin's conscience pinched him, if the blond actually died, the young man would unfairly follow. _Not a right moment to remember why I have strained relations with the Sandaime._

Somewhere in the back of the man's mind was the thought that Sasuke shouldn't have been left with his brother, but this thought had no priority, as finding the blond was more important. In mission mode, he followed the group of his ninken to the cemetery, a detail that put him on guard. It wasn't frequently visited, which made it a good possible ambush spot. _Did they bring Naruto here after catching him or was he led here with trickery? _

It was strange that he could not hear the sounds of battle, didn't the boy fight back? Did they exploit his weakness, genjutsu?

As he got closer, Kakashi felt a high concentration of chakra and frowning in puzzlement, uncovered his other eye to fully prepare for what lay ahead. Before long, his ninken threw themselves on the enemy that appeared in sight, without missing a beat, clawing and biting every bit of flesh they could reach. Kakashi could see two members of Fuuma clan and a pyramid like structure of sorts that was the source of chakra and his concern. Thinking quickly, he assumed that only one of attackers formed and controlled the unknown technique, therefore he was the first target. Dark hair, thick brows, bags under the eyes, red stripe on the shirt. Kamikiri was the name, if he remembered correctly. He needed to break his concentration to disrupt the technique. Kakashi ordered his dog partners to focus on the man that was probably guarding the caster of the jutsu, as he formed a Lightning Beast technique to distract the main enemy further. The gleaming hound quickly attacked unaware, sweat covered Kamikiri and shocked him with electricity.

A loud, wide and dusty explosion of the pyramid structure threw everyone present on different sides and crushed the surrounding memorials. The air became thick with dust and Kakashi was surprised to find himself not covered by debris. He hoped that if Naruto was the cause of this destruction, he was alive and out of danger.

He saw the familiar mop of blonde hair somewhere in the centre of the destroyed area.

The jounin stood and took a closer look at his student. His condition was awful, and Kakashi rushed to help him up. Halfway there he stopped though, seeing the red and glaring eyes that reminded him of the bijuu. If Naruto ever had that look, it meant that you better stay out of his path of rage.

The jounin gulped and reluctantly did just that, watching warily as the crawling, deformed, curled and blood covered boy rose on his feet and froze his attackers with killing intent even Kakashi himself could not produce. Right in front of him, wounds that terrified him closed themselves with a hissing sound, limbs righted without additional help and bones went under the skin, moulding back with a crack into shape there used to be. Powerful, dark, red and angry energy was heavy in the air as Naruto mindlessly attacked the men using his bare hands, like an animal. Screams and disturbing sounds followed. The jounin didn't mind their death, and he doubted he could stop it anyway.

Unwilling to watch such cruelty in someone so kind though, he grimaced and turned his head away from the scene, hoping that it will end quickly and that he would be able to attend to his student...

* * *

_A couple of weeks later_

The pair cautiously entered the house and looked around. The dust was everywhere and some furniture needed replacing.

Naruto touched some things, stroked the walls slowly and cocked his head observing the dust particles in the air as they were highlighted by the ray of morning light that came in through the windows.

Itachi lifted sheets off some pieces of furniture, checked the rooms and observed Naruto's reactions. It was interesting watching fear, wariness, excitement and eagerness merge on his face. The boy did not expect that he'd ever leave his guardians. He got used to them and to life in the clan. Changing it now was a turning point from where he could not go back. If he agreed, both of them would be far deeper in the game than they had planned and expected.

They locked gazes and the blond gave Itachi a mischievous smile. The young man raised a brow in response. Naruto kept his gaze and moved to the kitchen. Itachi followed curiously. There the blond turned to the shelves and opened several of them. His excitement then died, because all of them were empty, except for plates and glasses he pulled out and blew on, to check the level of dirt.

"All of it must be thoroughly cleaned, before restocking." The dark haired man supplied with a smirk. He waited for any comment from his friend, but the boy stayed quiet.

Itachi stifled a sigh and made a short tour through the small house again, checking which room belonged to his mother in the past out of curiosity. Mikoto used to live in this house with her parents, before she became a kunoichi, and before she married Fugaku.

Itachi stopped by one room and leaned on the doorframe. There was a single rolled futon, a decorated closet, a wide mirror, a closed window with grey smudges and a chest in the corner.

Mother's parents died quite a long time ago, leaving the house empty. She did not visit it nor was it given to anyone. The elders planned to rebuild the place but those plans changed when Mikoto suggested that Itachi and Naruto move in here. After the disaster that almost led to his, and to Naruto's death, she understood that without the support of the family, they were practically open for attacks. If everyone was against them, then what was stopping their enemies? It was ridiculous but Itachi's popularity caused jealous individuals to target Naruto, and that also meant danger for Itachi. Mikoto would not care if the blond was hurt, but the mere thought that her son was physically tied to the boy motivated her to adapt to the situation. If keeping Itachi safe meant keeping the blond safe as well, and if that also meant accepting their relationship, then she could live with it, because she loved her son and wanted him to be alive, wanted him to be happy. She forced that point of view onto her husband and no one stopped her. Then, she plastered a smile on her face and visited them in the hospital. Itachi could clearly remember as she forced kindness on her features and gazed at Naruto without rejecting him, judging him or showing any negative exterior. It was one of those moments when he was proud of her, proud of being her flesh and blood.

But living apart from parents, together, was a far more difficult decision to make than he expected. Suddenly his relationship with Naruto changed from a game to something more, something formal, with details known to almost everyone. Suddenly everyone knew they were attacked while inside the village, by the members of the new clan, almost died, and came back. Out of nowhere everybody knew to bring the blond bowls of noodles and boxes of sweets for Itachi. People stopped doubting their actions and accepted them as a couple once Uchiha clan severed all deals and ties with Fuuma family. Not ready to get on the bad side of the numerous clan, villagers stepped back. And now here they were, together, seeing the house that could be their home now. Would they be able to live without parents, guardians and daily interference?

Itachi heard Naruto's feet shuffle closer from behind, until the blond stopped by his side.

"What do you think?" The young man asked, unable to deal with silence from his friend any longer. From the corner of his eye he watched the boy look inside and around the room, inspecting it. There was an unusual understanding, sadness and tranquillity in Naruto's gaze and posture that he'd never expected.

"Is this what you want?" The boy asked, in a way that somehow implied that Itachi was the one that had to make a choice.

The jounin felt it wasn't fair to give him this responsibility. It was like putting on his shoulders the consequences of that one decision. What if everything got worse? He'd be the one to blame. "I'd rather have your personal opinion as well."

A small, genuine smile came as an answer and Naruto looked up with sparkling eyes. "When do we move in?"

xxx

He didn't think that Naruto would willingly come back to this place so early. Surely a traumatic experience, and memories of all the details haunted him?

Some part of cemetery was still in rubble. Distantly, Itachi heard someone work on the memorial, fixing the damage.

The sky was cloudy, promising rain. The boy stood under it, alien among the stones. It's not like bright yellow hair, orange shirt and overall black attire gathered attention, but there was something light, soft and warm about Naruto that did not suit this place. Everything around was too pale.

The memorial his friend stood in front of was made for the Yondaime. Very few people knew that there were remains of his wife beside his own, below the surface of the ground. That lack of information was for the sole purpose of keeping Naruto's ancestry secret. And the knowledge was _bitter_. Here he was, the pariah of Konoha, shameless, fearless, generous and loyal; misunderstood, underestimated, unappreciated. Adopted into one of the most powerful clans in shinobi world and still judged for something he didn't care about anymore. Why there were so few people that saw Naruto for who he was?

"Are you going to just stand there and stare at my back." The blond muttered without turning, probably feeling Itachi's eyes on himself.

He fought the urge to roll said eyes and then slowly, hesitantly came to stand by the boy's side. He respected the pair that gave life to Naruto, but he didn't know them. He opted not to judge them, even though there was always a little part of him that resented them for leaving his friend alone. A part of him that knew the Sandaime and remembered the day he confessed he knew who Naruto's parents were, resented the old man far more. Naruto lost all warm feelings he held for the powerful ninja he saw as a grandfather figure that day. It was years ago. They were keeping the professional outward behaviour now, and sometimes, Itachi forgot why, forgot that Naruto even knew and remembered who his parents were. This was the second time ever he visited their graves.

It must hurt, to know, to doubt.

Unsure, but determined, Itachi gently took Naruto's hand in his own. To show the boy that he wasn't alone. Sometimes support meant more than input. "Do you need anything?" He asked quietly.

"No." Was a whispered reply, but the stoic boy squeezed Itachi's hand tightly, as if this action was the only outside emotion he allowed himself.

_He grew up so much_. Stopped being a boy and became a teen. Started seeing through walls of lies. Started carving his own path. And somewhere along the way, captured, imprisoned and locked Itachi's heart. Was he ever going to let go of it? Did he even know what he's done? ...Unlikely.

He closed his eyes and squashed the need to sigh.

Being friends with Naruto was perfect, great, funny and safe. Pretending to be lovers with Naruto was blood rushing, risky, high, amazing and wide.

...Loving Naruto was a torture.

His hand was held in a tighter grasp. At least, Naruto was there. No matter how, or in what nature.

xxx

There was a time when Sasuke was afraid that Naruto would change their lives and the world around them so much that he wouldn't be able to recognize it. The boy was wild then, new, foreign. He was a brother, a rival, and a possible friend. He was thrown into the family, where everyone engaged in making him feel welcomed, feel at home and strived to make him useful and strong. Naruto repaid that by filling the void Sasuke didn't even know was there.

With a heavy sigh, the dark haired teen leaned on the doorframe and looked down to the floor of the room. Since he and the blond became as close as brothers, he was used to affection, hugs and clinginess on the part of the boy. It was adorable. Especially when they were too lazy to separate and fell asleep beside each other.

Sasuke wasn't sure what he felt when he watched Naruto sleep beside someone else.

With the same eagerness for embrace and closeness the chuunin knew, the blond clung to Itachi. They made an unsettling picture. Sasuke started suspecting that it was too easy for them to pretend. And now seeing them holding each other unconsciously, while sleeping in one bed, gave him clues. He wasn't spying, just visiting to deliver a message from mother, again. She had invited the pair for breakfast, knowing that none of them was motivated to cook in the morning. It was quite early still, and he knew that his brothers were moving in and had been reorganizing the interior of the house all night. Waking them up now was like signing up for becoming a dummy for their testing of jutsus. He'd go back and tell her he could not wake them.

How could life change so drastically? From strangers to brothers, from brothers to lovers... Next thing he knows, all of them would be mortal enemies. He smirked at the thought. When Naruto was close, nothing was ever boring.

He watched as Itachi nuzzled the blond mop of hair, features creasing as the strands tickled him, and became still again.

A little part of him resented Naruto for endangering Itachi's life. An image of a helpless, bloody, broken and mindless young man continued to appear before his eyes, in the weirdest and most awkward of moments, or when one of his brothers was near. A reminder that Itachi's life depended on Naruto's. That wildness and bestiality he saw then, belonged to the blond as well. Itachi never lost control, and never would have, if it wasn't for the boy's condition. He never would have known if he wasn't a witness. Was this connection a reason they were so close? He remembered that it started after the Ebisu business; before that, Naruto was friends with Itachi and treated him with mischief, but after, it's like they became the best of friends. He was even afraid that Itachi would take his place by Naruto's side, but found that their roles were different. Naruto and Sasuke were brothers, in anything but looks, and spent a lot of time together, training, resting, having missions. But Naruto and Itachi were friends, and understood each other, supported and loved in a different way. It just seemed to grow over time. He wondered... how serious they were about living together? How many secrets did they hide from him? He doubted that this physical connection and contract was the only thing they kept quiet about. But it wasn't like he wanted to pressure them. Honestly, he'd rather that he didn't have to know any of the details.

Seeing that the pair did not plan to wake any time soon, Sasuke left the comfortable place in the entrance of the room and stealthily left.

xxx

_Opening his eyes and looking around Naruto noted that he was alone, in an unfamiliar room. The walls were white, sheets far too clean, room too bare. A hospital? The crease of brows, hitched breathing and then the blond was rising on the bed, noting that he was in a light lavender gown, bandaged heavily all over the place. There were wooden sticks along his legs to keep them straight, tied with force. Some other strange bandages, really rather flexible constructions, were covering his feet, elbows and wrists. With distaste, he remembered where injuries came from. _

"_I'm actually alive." He muttered, looking down at himself. The boy blinked, looked around again and then his eyes turned determined. He awkwardly shifted to the edge of the bed, barely able to use his limbs, and taking a deep breath, put his feet on the floor. _

_The surface was cold, which meant that he did not lose the use of his legs. Testing his strength a bit, the blond moved and leaned on one leg, then the other, before he decided that it was good enough and slowly stood up. Well, stood is an exaggeration, because he could not bend the legs using knees. It was rather a battle with his body as he adjusted to the new development and staggered to his feet. He swayed a bit when he finally managed, but regained balance and moved to the door. He opened it with ease and ignored the number on the front. His steps were slow, unsteady, but he stubbornly went on. An inner compass of sorts led him to the left, down the bare, boring corridor. Thankfully, it was empty and he didn't have to feel as embarrassed about his state of dress. _

_He wondered how strange it was, to always know where to go to reach Itachi. It started over a year ago, and he steadily became used to the quiet, subtle tug in the back of his mind. Most of the time he was thankful for it, because it became a habit to check, to see, to know where Itachi was. Feeling the young man approach him before he was in sight, the unexplainable excitement that rose with it, it was so easy to get used to. Itachi said that he found this connection far earlier, and couldn't imagine how it could be without it. _

_Another door gathered his attention and Naruto smirked. Eagerly, he reached for it in his undignified, graceless step and opened. _

_Itachi was lying on the bed, asleep. The white sheet was covering him, but Naruto could see the same bandages and constructions on his arms and legs. A sting somewhere inside his chest, a soundless sob pushing through the wall of self control were suppressed at the sight and realization, but not because he didn't want to let it out, rather, he was restrained because of the presence of someone else in the room. _

_The blond stood holding the door handle, still not entering, but looking at his sleeping friend and his teammate._

_It wasn't Sasuke, whom he suspected to see sooner or later anyway._

_Hana sat on the chair by Itachi's bed as if she had every right to be there. Who let her in? Why did she visit his friend when _he_ was perfectly available, her precious, irritating and lovable teammate? Ah, right, she, like every other girl in Leaf blasted village had a crush on the dark haired, illustrious heir of Uchiha clan. She even put on the dress for a change. Where was her chuunin vest, shorts and hair band? He'd guess she wanted to make an impression. A pity the jounin was unconscious. "Hi there." Naruto voiced, and awkwardly walked in, closing the door behind him. _

_The girl blinked and stared at him, and then pointedly stared at his legs. Then she cleared her throat and finally replied. "Um, hi Naruto."_

_He noted that she became tense. The blond walked a bit closer, stopping at the foot of the bed. "What are you doing here?" He asked, seemingly cheerful._

_Hana tilted her head in Itachi's direction. "Visiting a friend."_

"_A-ah. My boyfriend, you mean." Naruto nodded his head sagely. "I see he's still sleeping, and gonna be knocked out for quite a time. Want me to deliver a message or anything? A kiss?" His tone was a bit mocking, a bit serious and friendly as always. No need to have strained relations with a teammate, but he had to make sure she threw the thought of seducing Itachi out of her mind._

_The Inuzuka girl blushed scarlet and stammered. "N-no need to. Get well soon," she rose and went to the door, obviously getting the point of Naruto's concealed threat, "I'll see you around."_

_And as she disappeared behind the door, Naruto gave in to the urge to laugh. "Bloody fan girls. Throw themselves at your feet and become obstacles in my way." He looked at his friend and his laugh abruptly stopped because the jounin was glaring at him from where he was lying on the bed. "What?"_

_Itachi did not move but his eyes travelled up and down the blond's form. "What are you doing walking around? You're not supposed to leave the bed."_

_The boy snorted and swayed, went to Itachi's side and carefully sat on the bed, or rather, fell into a sitting position because his legs would not let him do it the usual way. Shifting for a comfortable pose, he spoke. "Did she give you a heartfelt confession of love? They tend to loosen their tongue when they think you're not aware."_

_The young man closed his eyes and made an expression of a suffering man. Naruto laughed in response. "She did, didn't she. Oh, that was rich! And here your boyfriend walks in and spoils all her fun! You poor thing, had to pretend to be asleep for ages!" The blond laughed again._

"_She described how Kakashi-sensei spoke to her and Sasuke explaining our connection. She's extremely upset that you endanger my life." Itachi grumbled. _

_Naruto's laugh quickly died. He gave Itachi an inquiring look. "He did...?"_

_The young man gently took Naruto's hand in his own. "People are not stupid. They see strange things, they see our bandages, the same injuries, our closeness. Surely, something must be the source of it. Sooner or later, more of the masses will be aware."_

_Naruto's hand was limp, his gaze lost._

"_Does that upset you?" Itachi's question was quiet, but somehow filled the bare room._

"_A little bit?" The boy replied after a pause. "And you?"_

_Itachi shrugged. _

_A silence fell over them and it had a sombre tone. They remembered why they were in the hospital in the first place. The first thought Naruto had as he was awake and aware was to see Itachi and make sure he was as alive as the blond himself was. Logic stated that Itachi was fine, of course, but his heart and eyes just needed to see, to confirm that. He did not care that physically he was handicapped, all that mattered was to find his friend and make sure. Itachi looked well, though his gaze was haunted a bit. His features were somewhat stern, like he could not appreciate the fact he was alive, could not derive happiness out of knowledge itself. It would take days for him to make Itachi himself again, Naruto was sure of it. But he could do it, better than anyone. He _would_ do it. _

"_How do you feel now? Don't you need rest?" The young man asked with concern, rubbing Naruto's hand with his thumb slowly and absently. Naruto could not understand how the man could be so worried about him when he was in the same situation and state. Was he concerned for his mental condition? Like anything could break Naruto and influence him that much. Ha! "You ask me if I'm fine? I thought that you're quite aware if I'm fine or not. It's you that we need to ask this question."_

_Itachi turned his head away. "You know what I mean, baka."_

_The blond's smile turned smaller and after a slight hesitation, he leaned on his friend, a made a whining sound come out of his throat, like an animal. He let his body awkwardly fall over Itachi's, cursing his stiff limbs somewhere in the back of his mind, and nuzzled the jounin's chest and neck affectingly. _

_Itachi sighed and turned his head back to the blond, to watch him behave like a lost puppy. Like a lost adorable puppy. He could not stay annoyed nor angry with the blond for long. You'll be the death of me was a strangely fitting phrase for the moment, but far too meaningful and too solemn, so he stayed quiet and just kissed the top of Naruto's head. _

With the memory of that the blond woke up to the sight of Itachi by his side, with the young man's arm holding him possessively close to his body. The weightless feeling it brought to him made breathing difficult. The memory of their public kisses, the words of affection they exchanged, the way they held hands while walking around the village, it was sweet and oh so bitter. Itachi was pretending to be in love so well. It was so funny to respond, to let him have control.

Naruto thought it weird that he did not mind their game as much as he should have. After all, any straight man would be disturbed with the whole issue. And here he was, actually enjoying it. Especially when it seemed Itachi forgot about role playing and enjoyed their encounters and moments just as much. That possessive streak he had when his hands almost bruised Naruto's body and he was almost crossing the line, the awareness that he was attracted to this smaller, truly male body, made Naruto's insides flip and flutter. And then realization that someday soon it will all be over. It hit him often, reminding him that whatever happened between them was temporary. Because Itachi could easily decide that he wanted someone else, wanted a family, stability, good reputation. Naruto could _not_ give him that. Heck, he could not even admit to have feelings for his best friend because it meant that he had a crush on the gorgeous Uchiha heir like every other girl and guy in Konoha. It was so... demeaning. Itachi was playing this game with him _because_ he thought that the blond did not love him. _Because_ he wanted to get away from admirers, not because there was anything relatively romantic between them. And to think that he let himself fall in deep for the guy. It was painful to know that he'd never confess, and that Itachi was using him. Well, he remembered that he offered it himself in the first place, he just... never thought that it would force his feelings to grow that far. So what if Itachi was attracted to his body? He might as well be attracted to some females. There used to be a time he was seeing his female teammate; she was seeing Shisui later. From what Naruto knew, it was the reason Itachi and Shisui were having a colder relationship now than in the past.

Would their friendship go back to the way it was before? Unlikely. How could one forget that there was intimacy with a person? You can't be dating, _kissing_, and then be simple friends again. Would they grow cold to each other and apart as well? He didn't want it. Naruto wanted to hold onto their game for as long as possible, no matter how much it frightened him, because he could not discard it, could not refuse the chance. That was why he readily agreed to live together. He was such an egotistical prat.

He had the urge to touch Itachi without the young man being aware. Traitorous, his hand rose off the bed trembling and crept closer to his friend. The small distance between them seemed to stretch for eternity as his fingertips moved to Itachi's bare chest. The blond was gleeful that the jounin preferred to sleep without shirts. He had a chance and time to get attracted to that muscled torso. His fingertips brushed the surface of the skin lightly, delivering to him the knowledge of how warm that pale skin was. Gently, his stroked the flesh, trying to be so subtle that Itachi did not wake. It would not do to be caught doing such a thing. A small part of him was joyful that he woke before Itachi and could stare, touch and study without the jounin knowing. His eyes moved to Itachi's neck, where he could see the pulse, slight and subtle, under the skin. Then up, to the man's face, the side of which was on the pillow, and the other side was covered by long, shiny, dark strands of hair. Itachi let his hear loose before sleeping. The chaotic, dishevelled look suited him, the blond thought. He touched the strands and moved them slightly away from the man's face to see it better. He let the bangs stay on Itachi's cheek and pillow, it gave an unkempt, alluring picture. Just slightly, quietly, Naruto sighed. ...He wanted to keep that picture in his mind for a long, long time. He stared at Itachi's closed eyes, that had a mysterious power hidden within them.

A power to make a straight guy discard any love for female assets.

In his daydreaming, he _barely_ noticed Itachi's dark eyes opening, slowly, stealthily, as if he wanted to catch a picture too. Those eyes stayed somewhat narrowed as they gazed back, wordlessly, as if seeing Naruto's soul, uncovered, as if reading his mind.

They were so close, having fallen asleep with their backs to each other, and woken up on their sides, facing each other and in a half embrace. Maybe Itachi was unsettled about it? _Well, he can move away if he wants to_. Naruto wouldn't mind. He understood lots of things. He just continued to gaze at Itachi's face, his mind a bit hazed. Could Itachi see all those feelings in his eyes? Could he tell? How would he react if he knew? Leave him, or reject him like he did everybody else in this village?

The arm that held Naruto close came alive and moved to the blond's hip, slowly, and then moved back, up, tracing the curve. The move was so casual and gentle that Naruto did not register it until Itachi repeated the action several times. What did he mean by that...

Breathing became harder, especially when the strokes became wider, reaching his chest and the globe of his rear. Clearly, the moves were testing boundaries. Unable to stay utterly still under such a subtle, torturing assault, Naruto cursed and discarded all common sense and let his fingertips stroke Itachi's inviting chest, just like he did a short time before. It might be imagination, but he thought he saw a fire of sorts burn behind those dark eyes, an emotion far stronger than he was used to. It made a shiver run up his spine, and it banished the thought that they were alone in the walls of the house, without public and witnesses to put the show for. The hand that tortured him left his skin burning, and then moved to the back of his thigh, grabbing it firmly. ...That was definitely daring, the blond thought. He was slightly lost and wondered if Itachi was testing him, using him or whatever else. Why did he let him do it? Why did he let himself get hurt? Gently but resolutely, Itachi rearranged their positions, pushing Naruto on his back, and finding himself hovering over, still having the blond's thigh captured. He pulled it a bit sideways and let himself position his body in between Naruto's legs, but kept a slight space between them. His other hand kept him propped as his face hovered inches from the boy's own. "You know," Itachi whispered, gazing down on him with serious, barely readable expression. He bent down closer and let his lips move to Naruto's ear. "...I'm not pretending anymore."

One thump. Two.

Another one. And faster.

Naruto's heart acted on its own accord, not asking if the blond wanted it to race.

What did he say? Did he say what he thought he heard? No pretending... no game.

Naruto did not conceal a sharp intake of breath. He needed air so much at the moment. He turned his head to look at Itachi, to see his face and confirm the words. Dark eyes had a gaze that showed a mix of lust, determination, warmth and plea. A quick, sloppy, wet kiss followed without any warning, taking Naruto's air away, and making him incapable of thinking even more. But then the kiss stopped as abruptly as it started and Itachi leaned away, returning to the distance between them. Naruto was so scared that he planned to completely move away that he raised his trembling hands to wound them firmly around the man's neck. He could not let him go before they solved this not so pseudo relationship. "W-wait..." He breathed out and tightened his hold as the hand holding his thigh started leaving.

Panting as his mind was in a whirl and body barely responding to commands, Naruto looked at Itachi's face and found the obsidian eyes searching his own. The hand that was leaving his body, _torturously_ slowly moved back and up, effortlessly lifting his rear and settling on circling it, almost possessively, but gently.

Itachi's head moved down to his other ear to whisper. "...speak to me. Tell me the truth." Then he nuzzled Naruto's neck, just slightly, enough to drive him crazy. Their bodies seemed to be closer, pressing into each other, and _oh_, both of them were positively _excited_.

"..tell me the truth." Itachi repeated in his ear and his teeth scraped the edge of now hot, insignificant body part. He didn't know his ears were sensitive that much, he did not even register a whine that left him.

"...I... I'm not p-pretending either... for quite some time..." He finally managed to whisper back, inwardly cursing the stutter. He could not even control his mouth. He behaved like a freaking girl that had just got an unexpected confession. What would Itachi think of him if he turned into the incoherent pile of goo without any serious prompting?

Itachi though did not think, he just hungrily attached his mouth to the blond's and attacked every inch of it with his hot, claiming and demanding tongue. The arm that was propping him over Naruto discarded its position and grabbed the back of the blond's head, to control the kiss in an absolute way. He changed angles, sucked and bit Naruto's lower lip harshly, and he was allowed to do it all without any protest.

Naruto just let himself get lost in the attention, sensations, and power of the man that obviously wanted him. He swallowed all the moisture contents of their mouths before those dripped out and ignored moans that escaped him. Soon, he felt that if he did not take the gulp of air he'd suffocate, so he tore his mouth away to breathe, and Itachi just attacked the column of neck that was presented to him instead. He made a responding, appreciative sound and pressed their bodies closer still, while his lips trailed down to the blond's chest. Finding the fabric of the white, sleeveless shirt in the way, Itachi growled and pulled it with his teeth. The sight of it left Naruto gaping and flushing, because it was so... it looked enthusiastic, provoking and ignited a fire within him.

The young man disentangled from the boy and breathing heavily, grasped the fabric of the shirt that blocked access to Naruto's skin with his fists and viciously tore it apart. Then he sat and stared down at the boy that was lying below him on the bed. Itachi stared as if he wanted to make sure that it was not a dream. Naruto wondered what his friend, no, _boyfriend_, saw in him, really. Tousled hair, small frame, lean muscles, blue eyes? Was that what drew him? Itachi smirked teasingly and slowly bent down, and then nuzzled Naruto's stomach. The action was so sweet and adorable and ticklish because of Itachi's long hair that Naruto giggled and wound his hands into the dark strands. He felt a smile on Itachi's lips that touched his skin. The man's mouth tasted the surface and left butterfly kisses as he trailed up to nipples. "The things I would do to you..." He voiced casually and licked the bud.

Naruto gasped and stroked the man's muscled back, wondering if there was anything he could do with his own limbs at this point. "...yeah?" He answered incoherently, not really getting the point of the comment.

Itachi hummed and gave attention to the other nipple, prompting another, stronger gasp from the blond to resound in the room. "The things I cannot do to you..." Itachi whispered again and moving his face up grabbed Naruto's head by the hair. He initiated one more wet, bruising kiss before looking pointedly into glazed, blue orbs, "...yet."

* * *

_Few weeks later_

When Naruto finally found the time when he and Sasuke were alone, not bothered by their teammates, he decided to say what he wanted to say without beating around the bush, opting to be quick and blunt about the matter.

"This relationship, between Itachi and I, it's serious." His tone was even, low and should have accented the message with sincerity. He didn't want Sasuke to get the impression that he was joking and making it up. With the reputation of being a prankster, people were distrustful towards him when he spoke things that were not believable.

"I know." The dark haired teen replied, not looking away from the scroll in his hands. They were standing on the bridge, waiting for Kakashi and Hana as usual before going after the mission to the tower; lately, they were receiving tough and express b-ranked missions, it had something to do with Kakashi's reputation and their tracking skills.

A single little, silver gleaming fish appeared in the waters and the blond paid it some attention out of curiosity. The stream was small, so he assumed the sight was rare. "How do you know?"

Sasuke smirked. "I just do. I actually waited for you to see it too."

Naruto leaned on the rail and turned to his brother. "We were pretending." He frowned, wondering if Sasuke was simply boasting about seeing something others didn't.

The dark haired chuunin rolled the scroll up and gave his full attention to the blond. "I know that _you_ could have pretended. But Itachi is not a perfect actor, especially for that role. The way he described you after some of the dates just screamed that he had fallen hard." A glint of remembrance appeared in Sasuke's eye.

Intrigued, Naruto leaned closer. "W-what did he say?"

Sasuke smirked. "You know, this and that." He made a vague gesture.

The blond blinked and scowled. "Sasuke..." A warning was delivered with a growl.

"He-he..." Sasuke scratched the side of his face sheepishly and then blushed. "Uh, well," he gave Naruto a small smile. "...he said that you're _unique_." He emphasised the word delicately, giving it a soft, breathy tone that was meant to imitate Itachi. "I think that he meant a lot by that, but found one word that described you perfectly. And if there's anyone that I'd approve of, ever, it would be you, so count yourself lucky."

"As if I couldn't get him without your permission, teme." Naruto rolled his eyes. A knowing glint in dark orbs again caught his attention.

"I _did_ push the two of you together." Sasuke pointed out. And he was right. All those advices about going on dates, holding hands, public snogging, actually was a ground and start of his relationship with Itachi. Realizing that, Naruto shook his head, gaping, and hid his face in his hands.

Sasuke just laughed.

Later, when Naruto came home, he found a note on the kitchen table,

_Naruto, _

_I have a mission and will be gone for three days. I know you will be bored so I prepared a reading material for you. You'll find it in the bedroom. Eat healthily, don't get into trouble._

_Itachi._

Sweet and to the point, just like the young man to express concern, give a gift and complain about Naruto's eating habits at once. With a grin, Naruto left the note on the table and with an idea of the pile of scrolls with new techniques, rushed to the bedroom in search. He could never say no to new information, and ninjutsu was his specialty.

He did not find the pile of scrolls though. But, on the nightstand was a small stack of books. Still hopeful, the blond jumped on the floor nearby and grabbed the one that was placed on the top. He started reading, then frowned, then flipped the pages, that read again, and then after several minutes of that a deep red, scarlet blush spread on his face, neck and all body parts, both covered and not covered by clothes.

"Oh, Kami..." He whispered gaping at the sentences in the book. He closed the cover slowly, and placed the 'reading material' aside on the floor beside him. For a moment he was motionless and puzzled, and then, quizzically, tentatively reached for the next book. There were no words on the cover, and he was not surprised. He flipped the pages, noting that there were pictures, _many_ pictures, and focusing on one he frowned while studying it, and then shocked, abruptly closed the book. He put it aside so quickly that one would think he got burned. Naruto's eyes were wide, dancing around the room as if he was scared and embarrassed someone noticed him reading the pages.

The blond did not reach for the rest of the stack, already having an idea what was in there. All of the books described males involved in romantic relationships. Some of the pictures were _explicit_. The 'reading material' was supposed to show him what to expect from 'close encounters' with Itachi. _How thoughtful of him_. The boy snorted and put the books back in one heap. _Was that encouragement, _dis_couragement, a promise or a test? _It seemed Itachi wanted to make sure his boyfriend was educated.

Naruto grinned evilly, took off the vest and grabbing the first book-he was sure that the stack was meant to be read in the order it was presented to him-fell on his back on the futon, to start right away and read as much as possible before Itachi was back in three days_._ When they see each other again soon, Itachi better be prepared.

Xxx

_Two years later_

"Why me? Why is it always me the bad guys choose to go after?" Naruto whined, staring at the pictures and notes on the desk that described a group of criminals known as Akatsuki. "Gosh, all of them are S-ranked monsters!"

Itachi, who sat beside the blond, coughed to mask his surprise at hearing the news and looked away.

The two of them occupied the chairs by the Hokage's desk, which was covered by all the information Konoha had on the group of enemy ninja. The Sandaime was puffing his pipe, giving the pair time to adjust to the new information, Kakashi was leaning on the wall by the door, probably happy that his face was covered by a mask so no one could read distress written all over his features, and Jiraiya, who insisted on this meeting in the first place, was pacing the office in agitation.

"Well, if the group that hunted jinchuuriki consisted of chuunin level idiots, we'd hardly have a reason to worry. It makes sense that only monster would go after another monster." The white haired man huffed and muttered. Naruto glared and rolled his eyes in response.

"Jiraiya-kun offered to train you personally, Naruto. It would be a trip away from Konoha..." The Sandaime started but was interrupted by Itachi.

"Meaning, that away from the village he'd be a bait for them, _not_ out of their sight. With all the respect, Hokage-sama, but I am against it." The tone was even, if a bit cold.

The old man closed his eyes but did not say anything. He continued to smoke slowly.

The blond turned to face the raven haired man. "Dunno, learning under one of the sannin is an opportunity of the lifetime, on the other hand, I'd never leave without you as a company..." Naruto sounded half serious half joking, so everyone in the room was sceptical about his message.

Kakashi eye-smiled, "I wouldn't mind leaving the village for the so called holiday and training trip as well, Jiraiya-sama. Maybe you'd accept my company too?"

The Geta-man hid his face in the palm of his hand.

"Sounds amazing, sensei. How about a holiday training trip for you, me, and 'Tachi under the wing of Jiraiya of the sannin?" Naruto voiced innocently. The Hokage stifled the laugh that threatened to escape, but his eyes glistened with tears of amusement.

The white haired man turned to face them in his pacing and pointed at the Uchiha heir. "I understand that your Kakashi-sensei has much to teach you and could help me with shaping you up, but what your friend is there for? All your contract connection aside, you'd be simply placing him under risk because we might get attacked."

The blond pouted and crossed his arms. "But who will keep me warm at night? You wanna keep me deprived of kisses? Are you _that_ evil? And sex! How about..." He did not finish what he wanted to say because Itachi jumped from his seat and rushed to cover the traitorous mouth with his hand. The boy struggled so Itachi forcefully pulled him onto his lap and keeping one arm around Naruto's waist and other shutting the blond's talkative lips kept him in place while both Sarutobi and Kakashi giggled, and Jiraiya gaped in disbelief.

Naruto shook with mirth, Itachi was blushing like never before, because he did not expect the blond to pull any stunt in the presence of such people, and the old pervert pointed at the pair with index finger. "I... I thought that was just a rumour! You can't be serious!"

The blond managed to free his face to reply. "Hey, you have anything against gay people...?"

This time it was Jiraiya's turn to flush. "What? Er, no! I just never thought you'd, you know..."

Naruto raised a brow. "What, fancy my male friend? Swing _that_ way...?"

"He-he, see, I don't mind, really... but have you tried with women?" The old man asked hopefully.

The pair on the chair gave him dark glares.

"Uh, ok!" Jiraiya raised his palms in defeat. "I am all supportive and _understanding_, Naruto! I can even see what you find appealing in Itachi, he's attractive and cute when he blushes! And that intense glare!" He gave an uneasy laugh as Naruto stopped exuding massive killing intent.

The Sandaime shook his head.

"You know," Jiraiya continued thoughtfully, "your appearance is actually inspiring, Itachi-kun." He rubbed his chin with a glint in his eye. "I think you can join us on this holiday trip! You and Naruto can even share a tent!" With a grin he looked at the pair and Kakashi as well, "I think we can _all_ share a tent together! Divine!"

The blond turned green in the face as his imagination showed unnecessary pictures.

"No." Kakashi, Itachi and Naruto voiced together, with a different degree of volume. Naruto could not imagine accidentally cuddling with someone other than Itachi. Itachi could not let Naruto cuddle with someone other than he, and Kakashi just could not let Naruto prank him and take off the mask.

"Why not? Oh, come on!" Jiraiya waved his arms, in what he considered to be an encouraging gesture. The trio of ninja visibly drew back from the man that had wanted his next book inspiration. They'd rather not go _anywhere_. "Let's go to the public bath house and get to know each other better!" The sannin offered with a perverse, promising grin.

The trio fled the office.

**The End**

* * *

You may think that they lived happily ever after.

You may think that there was war, parting of ways, action, tears and death...

You may also imagine that Fugaku tried to force Itachi to marry, later, and was either successful or not...

You may also assume that the last scene was just that, the last scene of the story.

Thank you for reading and all the support. love ya)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))


End file.
